New type of Li ion conductor with 3D interconnected nanopores via polymerization of a liquid organic electrolyte-filled lyotropic liquid-crystal assembly.

A new type of polymer electrolyte material for Li ion transport has been developed. This material is based on a polymerizable lyotropic (i.e., amphiphilic) liquid crystal (1) that forms a type-II bicontinuous cubic (Q(II)) phase with the common liquid electrolyte, propylene carbonate (PC), and its Li salt solutions. The resulting cross-linked, solid-liquid nanocomposite has an ordered, three-dimensional interconnected network of phase-separated liquid PC nanochannels and exhibits a room-temperature ion conductivity of 10(-4) to 10(-3) S cm(-1) when formed with 15 wt % 0.245 M LiClO(4)-PC solution. This value approaches that of conventional gelled poly(ethylene oxide)-based electrolytes blended with larger amounts of higher-concentration Li salt solutions. It is also similar to that of a bulk 0.245 M LiClO(4)-PC solution measured using the same AC impedance methods. Preliminary variable-temperature ion conductivity and NMR DOSY studies showed that liquidlike diffusion is present in the Q(II) nanochannels and that good ion conductivity ( approximately 10(-4) S cm(-1)) and PC mobility are retained down to -35 degrees C (and lower). This type of stable, liquidlike ion conductivity over a broad temperature range is typically not exhibited by conventional gelled-polymer- or liquid-crystal-based electrolytes, making this new material potentially valuable for enabling Li ion batteries that can operate more efficiently over a wider temperature range.