| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1522278 | Materials Chemistry and Physics | 2014 | 9 Pages |
•This work combines MD simulation & XAS to study polymer electrolytes.•Doping KSCN can slightly induce the conformational change of TET chain.•Both polymer and anions are included in first solvation shell of cation.
The atomistic solvation structure of tetraglyme:KSCN (TET:KSCN) electrolytes with various K+:ether oxygen (M:O) ratio were studied by a combination of molecular dynamic (MD) simulation and Extended X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) called “MD-EXAFS” method. This method gives useful information at the atomistic scale including the average distance between atom pair around the probed ion (R0) and Coordination Number (N). MD simulation results suggest that K+ ions are mostly coordinated to ether oxygen and the conformation around C–C bond prefer the gauche state and TET becomes more compact shape. K+ ions are also coordinated to thiocyanate (SCN−) anion at both nitrogen and sulfur atoms due to strong electron delocalization over three atoms in SCN− (S, C and N). A comparison between MD-EXAFS with the experimental spectra gives an overall good agreement for both frequency and amplitude of the oscillations.
Graphical abstractA snapshot from MD simulation of TET:KSCN complex that represent the solvation structure of K+ ion by TET oxygens and SCN− anion. The most probable case is the solvation by 1 TET chain with 3 oxygen atoms and 2 SCN− anion.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide
