Issue 42, 2017

Ion transport in gel and gel–liquid systems for LiClO4-doped PMMA at the meso- and nanoscales

Abstract

Solid and gel electrolytes offer significant advantages for cycle stability and longevity in energy storage technologies. These advantages come with trade-offs such as reduced conductivity and ion mobility, which can impact power density in storage devices even at the nanoscale. Here we propose experiments aimed at exploring the ion transport properties of a hybrid electrolyte system of liquid and gel electrolytes with meso and nanoscale components. We focus on single pore systems featuring LiClO4-propylene carbonate and LiClO4-PMMA gel, which are model electrolytes for energy storage devices. We identified conditions at which the systems considered featured rectifying current–voltage curves, indicating a preferential direction of ion transport. The presented ion current rectification suggests different mechanisms arising from the unique hybrid system: (i) PMMA structure imposing selectivity in fully immersed systems and (ii) ionic selectivity linked to ion sourcing from media of different ionic mobility. These mechanisms were observed to interplay with ion transport properties linked to nanopore structure i.e. cylindrical and conical.

Graphical abstract: Ion transport in gel and gel–liquid systems for LiClO4-doped PMMA at the meso- and nanoscales

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 9 2017
Accepted
06 10 2017
First published
09 10 2017
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale, 2017,9, 16232-16243

Ion transport in gel and gel–liquid systems for LiClO4-doped PMMA at the meso- and nanoscales

T. Plett, M. L. Thai, J. Cai, I. Vlassiouk, R. M. Penner and Z. S. Siwy, Nanoscale, 2017, 9, 16232 DOI: 10.1039/C7NR06719D

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