Open Access[Polymer-in-salt electrolytes]. Annual report and extension proposal
Author(s) -
Charles Angell
Publication year - 1998
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/555343
Subject(s) - electrolyte , photovoltaic system , polymer , salt (chemistry) , materials science , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , engineering physics , chemistry , physics , electrical engineering , engineering , organic chemistry , composite material , electrode
The research proposed for the current grant consisted of five components, of which the authors have made substantial progress on three and have performed some exploratory work on a sixth for which they present here an argument for extending. The components on which they have made progress are: (1) development of and improvement on the basic polymer-in-salt idea. This will be separated into parts dealing with improvements in salt constitution, and improvements in polymer type, emphasizing the role of anionic polymers; (2) modifications of the polymer-in-salt electrolyte to include the addition of solid particulates to the salt-polymer matrix; and (3) physical measurements. The new component on which they have made some preliminary measurements over the summer period concerns the use of electrolytes developed under the present and other programs for improving the performance of photovoltaic cells. The rationale is that hole/electron separation in semiconductors under irradiation is aided by trapping the holes on a redox species in an adjacent electrolyte solution. The efficiency is proportional to a number of factors not fully understood, one of which is determined by the character of the electrolyte. Since the authors have new types of electrolytes under development, and since solar energy via photovoltaic is an environmentally important aspect of the energy sciences, they felt it was a desirable aspect of materials science to study in a laboratory in Arizona. Achievements in the past year are summarized