Improvement of solid electrolyte conductivity and cathodic properties of the Li|LiI·H 2O(SiO 2)|PbI 2 electrochemical cell

Abstract

The present investigation was carried out within the framework of the development of the Li|LiI·H 2O(SiO 2)|PbI 2 rechargeable electrochemical cell of 2.8 V open-circuit voltage. The influence of various types of silica on the conductivity of the LiI·H 2O(SiO 2) solid electrolyte has been investigated. A comparison between different silica powders has been made and large differences in the investigated cell performance were observed. In the course of the above research it was noticed that the improved conductivity performance of silica is due to the presence of OH groups, i.e. silanol (SiOH), on the surface. As a result of the above findings a considerable improvement of the preparation process of the investigated solid electrolyte was achieved and the conductance of 0.6SiO 2·0.4(LiI·H 2O) in the present study was 2.02×10 −2 (Ω cm) −1 at 25 °C.