“Soggy sand” polymer composite nanofiber membrane electrolytes for lithium ion batteries

A kind of octanol-modifided silica nanoparticle was fabricated and employed as a framework to form “soggy sand” electrolyte along with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate. “Soggy sand” and poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) composite electrolyte membranes were electrospun for the first time. The properties of this membrane electrolyte have been evaluated by the mechanical test and electrochemical test. The Young's modulus increased by 275% from 6.8 MPa to 25.5 MPa and the electrical conductivity increased to 7.6 × 10−5 S/cm at 290.15 K when compared to pristine P(VdF-HFP) membrane electrolyte. The conductivity is 3.1 × 10−4 S/cm at 323.15 K.

Graphical abstractAccording to the SEM graph of electrospun CEM with 20% IL/OMSiO2, the fiber of the membrane is so uniform and slender with the tensile strength of 10.8 MPa (the line chart at the upper left).Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide