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Lithium Salt Inclusion as a Strategy for Improving the Li + Conductivity of Nafion Membranes in Aprotic Systems
Author(s) -
Yang Liuqing,
Zeng Jie,
Ding Bo,
Xu Chaohe,
Lee Jim Yang
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
advanced materials interfaces
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.671
H-Index - 65
ISSN - 2196-7350
DOI - 10.1002/admi.201600660
Subject(s) - membrane , nafion , propylene carbonate , electrolyte , materials science , inorganic chemistry , conductivity , lithium perchlorate , ethylene carbonate , lithium (medication) , redox , chemical engineering , ion exchange , polymer chemistry , chemistry , electrode , electrochemistry , ion , organic chemistry , medicine , biochemistry , engineering , endocrinology
Though popular in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells and vanadium redox flow batteries, Nafion membranes are rarely used in lithium batteries because of their poor Li + conductivity in aprotic solvents. The performance of Nafion membranes in aprotic systems can however be improved by the following procedures: H + /Li + exchange, membrane swelling, and contraction in selected aprotic solvents to implant lithium perchlorate (LiClO 4 ) into the membrane interior. A Nafion membrane prepared as such, and containing 7.15 wt% of dispersed LiClO 4 , can have a Li + conductivity as high as 1.22 × 10 −3 S cm −1 in propylene carbonate, and 2.6 × 10 −4 S cm −1 in an ethylene carbonate/dimethyl carbonate mixture at room temperature. The inclusion of LiClO 4 also increases the tensile strength of Nafion 117 membrane by 123.7% and decreases the permeabilities of ferrocene and 1,1′‐dibromoferrocene, the common mediators for redox‐flow Li‐ion batteries, to 9.43 × 10 −7 and 1.50 × 10 −5 cm 2 h −1 , respectively, to deliver a good performance in an experimental flow cell.