Electrochemical Characterization of Single Lithium-Ion Conducting Polymer Electrolytes Based on sp3 Boron and Poly(ethylene glycol) Bridges.

A novel series of single lithium-ion conducting polymer electrolytes (SLICPE) based on sp3 boron and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) bridges is presented, in the context of the development of a new generation of batteries, with the aim to overcome the problems related to concentration overpotential and low ion transport numbers in conventional solid polymer electrolytes (SPE). The phase separation generated by the physical mixture of SPE with plasticizers such as poly(ethylene oxide) is still a serious problem. In this work, the use of PEG with different chain lengths, for the polycondensation reaction with LiB(OCH3)4, to synthesize SLICPE allows preventing phase separation while tuning the predominant conduction mechanism, and thus the electrical properties, especially the lithium-ion transference number. The ionic transport is promoted by chain mobility as the chain length is increased. SLICPE with the best ionic conductivity values (4.95 ± 0.05) × 10-6 S cm-1 was the one synthesized from poly(ethylene glycol) with an average MN of 400 (BEG8), having an O/Li+ ratio of 20. The lithium transference number ( tLi+) and electrochemical stability window of SLICPE membranes at 25 °C decreased as the PEG bridge length between sp3 boron atoms increased from 0.97 to 0.88 and 5.4 to 4.2 V vs Li0/Li+, respectively, for SLICPE synthesized from PEG with an average MN of 50-400 (BEG1 to BEG8).

Communication: Dimensionality of the ionic conduction pathways in glass and the mixed-alkali effect.

A revised empirical relationship between the power law exponent of ac conductivity dispersion and the dimensionality of the ionic conduction pathway is established on the basis of electrical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) measurements on crystalline ionic conductors. These results imply that the "universal" ac conductivity dispersion observed in glassy solids is associated with ionic transport along fractal pathways. EIS measurements on single-alkali glasses indicate that the dimensionality of this pathway D is ∼2.5, while in mixed-alkali glasses, D is lower and goes through a minimum value of ∼2.2 when the concentrations of the two alkalis become equal. D and σ display similar variation with alkali composition, thus suggesting a topological origin of the mixed-alkali effect.

A correlation between the ionic conductivities and the formation enthalpies of trivalent-doped ceria at relatively low temperatures.

We report a correlation between oxygen ionic conductivity and the enthalpy of formation of trivalent-doped ceria from the component binary oxides observed at relatively low temperatures (150-275 degrees C). The bulk conductivities of La-doped ceria samples identical to those previously examined by thermochemical studies were measured as a function of La content for a direct comparison. The conductivity showed a maximum at a La concentration of 5 mol%, implying that the number of freely mobile oxygen vacancies reaches a maximum near that doping level in the temperature range of interest. The formation enthalpies previously reported by Chen and Navrotsky also show a maximum, indicating destabilization near that composition. Additional measurements show that this maximum is very pronounced and sharply peaked near that composition. These enthalpies suggest that the energetically favorable long-range interactions between the charged defects that trap the oxygen vacancies become dominant above 5 mol% doping in the CeO2-LaO1.5 solid solution. In addition, the conductivities measured from independently prepared Gd-doped ceria samples show a maximum at around 10 mol% doping below 450 degrees C as anticipated from a pronounced maximum in the formation enthalpies of the CeO2-GdO1.5 solid solution. These empirical findings confirm that the ionic conductivity of trivalent-doped ceria is strongly enough correlated with its formation enthalpy at relatively low temperatures so that information about the critical dopant concentration associated with the conductivity maximum may be gained from the formation enthalpies of the solid solutions, and vice versa. We have no direct information about this correlation at higher temperatures; both thermodynamics and conductivity maximum might change if the defect clusters dissociate to any significant extent.

On the conduction pathway for protons in nanocrystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia.

In this communication we elucidate a microstructural picture of proton conduction in nano-crystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia at low temperatures (Kim et al. Adv. Mater., 2008, 20, 556). Based on careful analysis of electrical impedance spectra obtained from samples with grain sizes of approximately 13 and approximately 100 nm under both wet and dry atmospheres over a wide range of temperatures (room temperature-500 degrees C), we were able to identify the pathway for proton conduction in this material. It was found that the grain boundaries in nano-crystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia are highly selective for ion transport, being conductive for proton transport but resistive for oxygen-ion transport.

Direct calorimetric measurement of grain boundary and surface enthalpies in yttria-stabilized zirconia.

We measured the change in enthalpy with grain size of a dense nanograined yttria-stabilized zirconia by oxide melt solution calorimetry and derived a grain boundary enthalpy, 0.73 +/- 0.19 J m(-2). Surface enthalpies of nanopowders are 2.21 +/- 0.14 J m(-2) (anhydrous surface) and 1.60 +/- 0.09 J m(-2) (hydrous surface). The grain boundary enthalpy is about a factor of two smaller than the enthalpy of the anhydrous surface, suggesting that densification which maintains nanosized grains is indeed thermodynamically driven. This is the first direct calorimetric measurement of grain boundary enthalpy in a ceramic.