Abstract
In this study, we tethered terminal uracil groups onto short-chain poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to form the polymers, uracil (U)-PEG and U-PEG-U. Through AC impedance measurements, we found that the conductivities of these polymers increased upon increasing the content of the lithium salt, LiAsF6, until the Li-to-PEG ratio reached 1:4, with the conductivities of the LiAsF6/U-PEG blends being greater than those of the LiAsF6/U-PEG-U blends. The ionic conductivity of the LiAsF6/U-PEG system reached as high as 7.81 × 10−4 S/cm at 30 °C. Differential scanning calorimetry, wide-angle X-ray scattering, 7Li nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that the presence of the uracil groups in the solid state electrolytes had a critical role in tuning the glass transition temperatures and facilitating the transfer of Li+ ions.
Highlights
A great concern regarding our possible future energy problems is the need to develop highly efficient and stable energy conversion systems
We focused on preparing solid state electrolytes based on Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/D2000/LiClO4/clay [18], PEO/PPBI/LiOTf [15], PEO/LiClO4/phenolic resin [19] and LiClO4/PEO/PCL [20]
The solvent was evaporated from the filtrate in a rotary evaporator; the residue was dried under vacuum for 24 h to yield U-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)
Summary
A great concern regarding our possible future energy problems is the need to develop highly efficient and stable energy conversion systems. Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based polymeric electrolytes have been among the most extensively studied polymer ionic conductors, because their structures benefit rapid ion transport. We have incorporated noncovalently interacting (multiple hydrogen bonding) functionalities into PEO polymer backbones to improve the properties of their SPEs [21,22]. Multiple hydrogen bonding interactions in supermolecules are moderately strong and highly directional, leading to their relating polymers possessing several attractive properties, including thermo-reversibility, responsiveness to external stimuli (e.g., pH, solvent polarity, temperature and concentration) and improved thermal stability relative to that of related single-hydrogen-bonding systems [23,24,25]. To improve the thermal and mechanical properties of short-chain PEO (M = 350 g/mol) without compromising its ionic conductivity, in this study, we tethered uracil (U), a self-complementary, noncovalently interacting functionality, to the chain ends of. Chemical Structures of uracil (U)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and U-PEG-U
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