Multifunctional Epoxy-Based Solid Polymer Electrolytes for Solid-State Supercapacitors

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) have drawn attention for promising multifunctional electrolytes requiring very good mechanical properties and ionic conductivity. To develop a safe SPE for energy storage applications, mechanically robust cross-linked epoxy matrix is combined with fast ion-diffusing ionic liquid/lithium salt electrolyte (ILE) via a simple one-pot curing process. The epoxy-rich SPEs show higher Young’s modulus (E), with higher glass transition temperature (T g) but lower ionic conductivity (σdc) with a higher activation energy, compared to the ILE-rich SPEs. The incorporation of inorganic robust Al2O3 nanowire simultaneously provides excellent mechanical robustness (E ≈ 1 GPa at 25 °C) and good conductivity (σdc ≈ 2.9 × 10–4 S/cm at 25 °C) to the SPE. This suggests that the SPE has a bicontinuous microphase separation into ILE-rich and epoxy-rich microdomain, where ILE continuous conducting phases are intertwined with a sturdy cross-linked amorphous epoxy framework, supported by the observation of the two T gs and low tortuosity as well as the microstructural investigation. After assembling the SPE with activated carbon electrodes, we successfully demonstrate the supercapacitor performance, exhibiting high energy and power density (75 W h/kg at 382 W/kg and 9.3 kW/kg at 44 W h/kg). This facile strategy holds tremendous potential to advance multifunctional energy storage technology for next-generation electric vehicles.