Electrical and structural studies of a LiBOB-based gel polymer electrolyte

Abstract

A series of gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) containing lithium bis(oxalato)borate (LiBOB), propylene carbonate (PC), and ethylene carbonate (EC) have been investigated. Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) was used as the polymer. First, a series of liquid electrolytes was prepared by varying the Li:O ratio and obtained the best composition giving the highest conductivity of 7.1 × 10−3 S cm−1 at room temperature. Then, the PEO-based GPEs were prepared by adding different amounts of LiBOB and PEO into a mixture of equal weights of EC and PC (40 % of each from the total weight). The gel electrolyte comprises of 12.5 % of LiBOB, 7.5 % of PEO, 40 % of EC, and 40 % of PC gave the highest ionic conductivity of 5.8 × 10−3 S cm−1 at room temperature. From the DC polarization measurements, ionic nature of the gel electrolyte was confirmed. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of electrolytes showed the Li+ ion coordination with EC and PC molecules. These interactions were exhibited in the peaks corresponding to ring breathing of EC at 893 cm−1 and ring bending of EC and symmetric ring deformation of PC at 712 and 716 cm−1 respectively. The presence of free Li+ ions and ion aggregates is evident in the peaks due to the symmetric stretching of O–B–O at 985 cm−1.