Electronegativity-Induced Single-Ion Conducting Polymer Electrolyte for Solid-State Lithium Batteries

Abstract

The application of solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) is severely impeded by the insufficient ionic conductivity and low Li+ transference numbers (tLi+). Here, we report an iodine-driven strategy to address both the two long-standing issues of SPEs simultaneously. Electronegative iodine-containing groups introduced on polymer chains effectively attract Li+ ions, facilitate Li+ transport, and promote the dissociation of Li salts. Meanwhile, iodine is also favorable to alleviate the strong O−Li+ coordination through a Lewis acid–base interaction, further improving the ionic conductivity and tLi+. As a proof of concept, an iodinated single-ion conducting polymer electrolyte (IPE) demonstrates a high ionic conductivity of 0.93 mS cm−1 and a high tLi+ of 0.86 at 25 °C, which is among the best results ever reported for SPEs. Moreover, symmetric Li/Li cells with IPE achieve a long-term stability over 2600 h through the in-situ formed LiF-rich interphase. As a result, Li−S battery with IPE maintains a high capacity of 623.7 mAh g−1 over 300 cycles with an average Coulombic efficiency of 99%. When matched with intercalation cathode chemistries, Li/IPE/LiFePO4 and Li/IPE/LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 solid-state batteries also deliver high-capacity retentions of 95% and 97% at 0.2 C after 120 cycles, respectively.