Porous polymer electrolytes with high ionic conductivity and good mechanical property for rechargeable batteries
Abstract Porous polymer electrolytes (PPEs) are attractive for developing lithium ion batteries because of the combined advantages of liquid and solid polymer electrolytes. In the present study, a new porous polymer membrane doped with phytic acid (PA) is prepared, which is used as a crosslinker in polymer electrolyte matrix and can also plasticize porous polymer electrolyte membranes, changing them into soft tough flexible materials. A PEO PMMA LiClO 4 x wt. PA (x weight of PA/weight of polymer, PEO: poly(ethylene oxide) PMMA: poly(methyl methacrylate) polymer membrane is prepared by a simple evaporation method. The effects of the ratio of PA to PEO PMMA on the properties of the porous membrane, including morphology, porous structure, and mechanical property, are systematically studied. PA improves the porous structure and mechanical properties of polymer membrane. The maximum tensile strength and elongation of the porous polymer membranes are 20.71 MPa and 45.7% at 15 wt. PA, respectively. Moreover, the PPEs with 15 wt. PA has a conductivity of 1.59 x 10 5 S/cm at 20 degC, a good electrochemical window >5 V) and a low interfacial resistance. The results demonstrate the compatibility of the mechanical properties and conductivity of the PPEs, indicating that PPEs have good application prospects for lithium ion batteries.