Nanohybrid Polymer Electrolytes with Enhanced Safety and Electrochemical Performance

Rechargeable Li/Na-ion batteries have been studied extensively for the electric and energy industries, but currently used liquid electrolytes have serious safety risks (combustion and explosion). Besides, nonuniform ion (Li+/Na+) deposition on the negative electrode upon cycling would eventually cause the cell to fail. Hence, the development of safe, stable, and long-life Li/Na-ion batteries is being intensively pursued to enable high-energy-density storage system applications. Solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) is attracting considerable attention to handle potential safety risk and regarded as a safer alternative to satisfy the needs for high-performance batteries. However, low conductivities and insufficient electrode-electrolyte interfaces still hinder the potential applications of SPEs. Here we have been targeting poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMEM) and devoted a large amount of research to modifying the polymer matrix, including copolymerization of PEGMEM and SMA (stearyl methacrylate), OV-POSS based graft polymer electrolyte with star-shaped structure and construction of cross-linked branching nanohybrid polymer electrolyte by functionalized nanoparticles with polymer chains. We focus on the exploring the interfacial design to enhance interaction between nanoparticles and the polymer matrix, and utilize microscopic and spectroscopic analyses to better understand the interfacial chemistry between particles and polymeric chains.