Title: A safe, flexible, and high-performing gel-polymer electrolyte for rechargeable lithium metal batteries

Abstract

The use of gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) is of great interest to build high-performing rechargeable lithium metal batteries (LMBs) owing to the combination of the good electrochemical properties coming from the liquid and improved safety of the polymer host. In this work, we report a facile and scalable one-pot preparation method of a GPE based on a highly safe polyethylene glycol dimethyl ether (PEGDME) plasticizer in a poly (vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) polymer matrix. The prepared GPE exhibits excellent safety (non-flammability and thermal stability up to 250ºC), and outstanding electrochemical properties at room temperature (high ionic conductivity of 3.4×10−4 S cm−1). Moreover, GPE delivers good C-rate response and high capacity (ca. 1 mAh cm−2 at C/10). Notably, the prototype pouch cell (ca. 19 mAh at C/10) provides remarkable safety, mechanical flexibility, and strong tolerance towards bending and cutting. These results suggest that the prepared GPE is a promising candidate for the development of high-performance, flexible and safe LMBs that operate at room temperature.

Biography

Julen Castillo finished his degree in Chemical Engineering in 2018 at the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU). During his last year of studies, he joined the company Petróleos del Norte SA as an internship student where, among other things, was dedicated to the adaptation of the API 751 safety standard to the alkylation unit of that company. He obtained a postgraduate scholarship awarded by the UPV/EHU to complete the interuniversity master´s degree in Chemical Engineering at the UPV/EHU and Universidad de Cantabria. In 2019, he joined CIC energiGUNE focusing on the development of gel polymer electrolytes for its application in lithium-sulfur batteries. Currently, he is doing his doctoral studies at CIC energiGUNE as a member of the Electrochemical Energy Storage group, focalizing on the development and the study of the upscaling process of batteries for ambient temperature operation based on solid and safe electrolytes.