Electrochimica Acta, Vol.46, No.10-11, 1635-1639, 2001
Poly(vinylidenefluoride)-based porous polymer electrolytes
New multicomponent organic liquid electrolytes, based on mixtures of the commercial solution EC-DEC-LiPF6 (A) and tetraglyme/LiPF6 (G4), have been examined in terms of thermal and electrochemical behaviour. The composition with 40 vol% of G4 seems to be the best compromise among thermal stability, high conductivity and wide electrochemical window. Two porous asymmetric poly(vinylidenefluoride) membranes of porosity higher than 70%, but of different morphology (sponge-like versus finger-like), prepared by the phase inversion method, are compared in terms of physical-chemical properties, after activation with the pure solution A and the optimal mixture 60:40 v/v A:G4. Conductivities exceeding 2 mS/cm at room temperature are easily obtained, and the use of these membranes assures electrochemical stability at least up to 5 V. In spite of the cross-sectional asymmetry of these kinds of membrane and of the presence of a superficial skin, no relevant differences in the anodic limit voltages are observed on changing the orientation of the skin, as demonstrated by linear sweep voltammetry tests on both the surfaces.
Keywords:lithium batteries;organic liquid electrolytes;poly(vinylidene fluoride);phase inversion;gel electrolytes