Molecular Coupling Strategy Achieving In Situ Synthesis of Agglomeration-Free Solid Composite Electrolytes.

Abstract

Solid composite electrolytes (SCEs) synergize inorganic and polymer merits for viable commercial application. However, inferior filler-polymer interfacial stability ultimately leads to the agglomeration of inorganic particles and greatly impedes Li+ migration. Herein, triethoxyvinylsilane (VTEO) is employed to form a strong chemical interaction between poly(vinylene carbonate) (PVC) and montmorillonite (MMT) via in situ solidification, which eliminates the agglomeration and improves interfacial compatibility. Consequently, the obtained solid composite electrolytes (PVC-s-MMT) achieve increased Li+ conductivity (0.4 mS cm-1 at 25 °C), enhanced transference number (0.74), and increased oxidation potential (5.2 V). The Li/PVC-s-MMT/LiFePO4 cells exhibit outstanding cycling performance (>99.5% after 600 cycles) at 1C at room temperature. Moreover, density functional theory (DFT) calculations are applied to uncover the fast interfacial conducting channels of PVC-s-MMT. Our work provides a feasible in situ synthesis method to prepare agglomeration-free SCEs, which is highly compatible with existing battery production processes of liquid electrolytes.