Development of solvate ionic liquid immobilized MCM-41 ionogel electrolytes for lithium battery

Compared to liquid electrolytes, solid electrolytes have shown better performance on safety requirements and energy densities. However, the further application of solid electrolytes is still limited due to the large interface resistance between electrolyte and electrode. In this study, a quasi-solid electrolyte prepared by ordered mesoporous MCM-41 (Mobil Composition of Matter No. 41) was developed to solve this problem. For this electrolyte, the solvated ionic liquids could be immobilized within inorganic mesoporous material by coupled molecular sieve. The electrochemical characteristics, including lithium-ion conductivity at ambient temperature, ion mobility, resistance for lithium dendrite, corrosion resistance, and interfacial resistance between electrolyte and electrode were all improved significantly. This resulted in enhanced electrochemical performance, including high room temperature lithium-ion conductivity, improved ion migration number, enhanced lithium dendrite resistance, good corrosion resistance, and low interfacial resistance between electrolyte and electrode. Moreover, the long shelf life of the prepared electrolytes, of over 1 year, increases the product’s convenience and provides an opportunity. The assembly cell of Li|LiFePO 4 displayed discharge capacity of 126 mAh/g with capacity retention of 88% after more than 1500 cycles, demonstrating high electrochemical performance and promising application.