Plating a Dendrite-Free Lithium Anode with a Polymer/Ceramic/Polymer Sandwich Electrolyte

A cross-linked polymer containing pendant molecules attached to the polymer framework is shown to form flexible and low-cost membranes, to be a solid Li(+) electrolyte up to 270 °C, much higher than those based on poly(ethylene oxide), to be wetted by a metallic lithium anode, and to be not decomposed by the metallic anode if the anions of the salt are blocked by a ceramic electrolyte in a polymer/ceramic membrane/polymer sandwich electrolyte (PCPSE). In this sandwich architecture, the double-layer electric field at the Li/polymer interface is reduced due to the blocked salt anion transfer. The polymer layer adheres/wets the lithium metal surface and makes the Li-ion flux at the interface more homogeneous.…

• NS
  National Science Foundation
• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy
• DO
  Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems
• BE
  Basic Energy Sciences

  Award: DE-SC0005397
• DO
  Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering