Poly(poly[ethylene glycol] methyl ether methacrylate)/graphene oxide nanocomposite gel polymer electrolytes prepared by controlled and conventional radical polymerizations for lithium ion batteries

Abstract

Nanocomposite gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) films based on poly(poly[ethylene glycol] methyl ether methacrylate)/graphene oxide (GO) (P[PEGMA-GO]) have been prepared by in situ conventional free radical polymerization (FRP) and reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization as controlled radical polymerization (CRP) using 2-cyano-2-propyl dodecyl trithiocarbonate (CPDT) as RAFT agent. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that prepared nanocomposite films had amorphous structure and also, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed appropriate thermal stability of samples. GPEs prepared via FRP showed slight higher ionic conductivity that GPEs prepared via RAFT polymerization. In both synthetic approaches, an optimum GO amount of 0.3 wt. % was obtained considering ionic conductivity. At ambient temperature, P(PEGMA-GO) with 0.3 wt. % GO prepared via FRP indicated the highest ionic conductivity of 4.05 Â 10 À3 S cm À1 , a satisfactory lithium ion transference number (t + ) of 0.6, and the excellent interface compatibility with electrodes. The lithium ion battery with P(PEGMA-GO0.3%) as GPE also exhibited electrochemical stability window up to 4.6 V vs. Li/Li + , a high charge-discharge capacity of 179 mAh g À1 at 0.1 C, and capacity retention of 91% after 100 cycles.

A review: studying the effect of graphene nanoparticles on mechanical, physical and thermal properties of polylactic acid polymer

“… 86 Graphene has recently been recognized as a potential nano filler for the production of polymer nanocomposites. 154,155 This material has many properties such as mechanical strength and thermal conductivity (5000 W m −3 K −1 ) 156 which is much higher than the certified standards for single wall CNTs. In addition to the very high level (2630 m 2 g −1 ), these properties together with gas permeability indicate the future applications of graphene to improve the mechanical, thermal and gas barrier properties of polymeric materials.…”

Graphene in Solid-State Batteries: An Overview

“…A comparison of LFP cells' performances demonstrated a 166 mAh g −1 at 0.2 C-rate for GO-based electrolyte that was higher than the cells without GO (136 mAh g −1 ). The use of GO has also been reported in another work where poly(ethylene glycol)-grafted GO (PEG-GO) is incorporated in PEG methyl ether methacrylate polymer electrolytes [72]. Here too, GO helped in increasing the Lewis acid-base interaction with Li salt, which resulted in its higher dissociation to finally achieve enhanced ionic conductivity at room temperature.…”

Flexible Polymer Hydrogels for Wearable Energy Storage Applications

“…[136] Polymer composite hydrogels can also be used to improve the mechanical strength of polymer hydrogel electrolytes, which is a well-known shortcoming of polymer hydrogels. Inorganic crystals, [217] carbon nanomaterials, [218] and other polymers, [219] can be introduced into the structure of polymer hydrogel electrolytes to improve the mechanical strength of the polymeric backbone through the formation of noncovalent interactions between polymeric chains and the additive. Moreover, polymer hydrogels can be used to design all-hydrogel solid-state supercapacitors.…”