Electrochemical characteristics of the blended polymer electrolytes containing lithium salts

Blend-based polymer electrolytes composed of poly(ethylene oxide), poly(oligo[oxyethylene]oxysebacoyl), and lithium salts have been prepared. These polymer electrolytes have been investigated in terms of ionic conductivity, transport number, and interfacial characteristics of the lithium electrode in contact with the polymer electrolyte. The influences of the blend composition, the salt used, and its concentration on the electrochemical behavior were studied. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Investigation of mechanical properties of polyvinyl chloride-polyethylene oxide (PVC-PEO) based polymer electrolytes for lithium polymer cells

Polymer electrolytes composed of a blend of polyvinyl chloride-polyethylene oxide (PVC-PEO) as a host polymer, lithium triflate (LiCF₃SO₃) as a salt, mixture of ethylene carbonate (EC) and dibuthyl phthalate (DBP) as plasticizers and silica (SiO₂) as the nanocomposite filler were studied. Results suggest that PVC-PEO blending exhibits improved mechanical strength compared to that of pure PEO. The introduction of LiCF₃SO₃ changes the mechanical properties of PVC-PEO blends from hard and brittle to soft and tough. In PVC-PEO:LiCF₃SO₃ (70:30) system, the Young’s modulus value decreases from 5.30 × 10⁻¹ MPa to 4.78 × 10⁻⁴ MPa and the elongation at peak value increases from 3.71 mm to 32.09 mm with the incorporation of DBP and EC. The deteriorated mechanical properties with the addition of plasticizers are overcome with the addition of SiO₂ as nanocomposite filler. In PVC-PEO-LiCF₃SO₃-DBP-EC system, the addition of 5% SiO₂ increases the Young’s modulus value from 4.78 × 10⁻⁴ MPa to 1.51 × 10⁻³ MPa. The improvement of the mechanical properties reveals greater dispersion of SiO₂ particles in PVC-PEO blend based polymer electrolytes. In practical lithium polymer cells, inorganic fillers are frequently added to improve the mechanical strength of the electrolyte films.     

Electrochemical noise of a lithium electrode in organic electrolytes: A study by a correlation function method

Fluctuations of the potential of a lithium electrode in conditions of galvanostatic polarization in aprotic organic electrolytes are studied by a method of correlation functions. Computer-aided removal of heavy interference in the form of slow variation of the electrode potential proved to be possible to perform with use made of fifth-power polynomials. The time coordinate of the first zero in the correlation function weakly depends on the electrolyte type and lies within the limits 1.5–3 s. At the same time, the electrolyte type affects the dispersion of the electrode potential fluctuations in a substantial manner. In so doing, lithium systems that feature a high cycling efficiency possess a lower level of noise.     

Preparation and ion conductivities of the plasticized polymer electrolytes based on the poly(acrylonitrile‐ co‐lithium methacrylate)

The polymer electrolytes composed of poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐lithium methacrylate) [P(AN‐co‐LiMA)], ethylene carbonate (EC), and LiClO₄ salts have been prepared. The ion groups in the P(AN‐co‐LiMA) were found to prevent EC from crystallization through their ion–dipole interactions with the polar groups in the EC. This suppression of the EC crystallization could lead to the enhancement of the ion conductivity at subambient temperature. The polymer electrolytes based on the PAN ionomer with 4 mol % ion content exhibited ion conductivities of 2.4 × 10⁻⁴ S/cm at −10°C and 1.9 × 10⁻³ S/cm at 25°C by simply using EC as a plasticizer. In the polymer electrolytes based on the PAN ionomer, ion motions seemed to be coupled with the segmental motions of the polymer chain due to the presence of the ion–dipole interaction between the ion groups in the ionomer and the polar groups in the EC, while the ion transport in the PAN‐based polymer electrolytes was similar to that of the liquid electrolytes. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 247–252, 1999     

Polymeric phosphonium salts as a novel class of cationic biocides. III. Immobilization of phosphonium salts by surface photografting and antibacterial activity of the surface-treated polymer films

Immobilized polycationic biocides with phosphonium salt on the surface of poly(propylene) film were prepared by surface photografting and surface antibacterial activity of the resulting films against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was explored by the viable cell counting method. These films with phosphonium salts were found to exhibit high antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli—particularly against E. coli. Furthermore, morphological changes of the cells of S. aureus and E. coli in contact with the immobilized phosphonium salt were estimated by scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the immobilized biocides exhibited surface bactericidal activity against both strains as evidenced by shrunken and deformed cells of these species in contact with the immobilized biocides. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The PVT properties of concentrated aqueous electrolytes. IV. Changes in the compressibilities of mixing the major sea salts at 25°C

The speed of sound of mixtures of the six possible combinations of the major sea salt ions (Na⁺, Mg²⁺, Cl^–, and SO ₄ ^2– ) have been determined at I=3.0 and at 25°C. The results have been used to determine the changes in the adiabatic compressibility of mixing K_m the major sea salts. The values of K_m have been fit to the equation K_m=y₂y₃I²[k₀+k₁(1-2y₃)] where y_i is the ionic strength fraction of solute i, k₀ and k₁ are parameters related to the interactions of like-charged ions. The Young cross-square rule is obeyed to within ±0.04×10^–6 cm³-kg^–1-bar^–1. A linear correlation was found between the compressibility k₀ and volume v₀ interaction parameters (10⁴k₀=–0.24+3.999 v₀, s=0.15) in agreement with out earlier findings. Estimates of the sound speeds for the cross square mixtures (NaCl+MgSO₄ and MgCl₂+Na₂SO₄) were made using the equations of Reilly and Wood. The estimated sound speeds were found to agree on the average with the measured values to ±0.36 m-sec^–1.