A highly conductive quasi-solid-state electrolyte based on helical silica nanofibers for lithium batteries

Jiemei Hu; Haoran Wang; Yonggang Yang; Yi Li; Qi-Hui Wu

doi:10.1039/d1ra06803b

A highly conductive quasi-solid-state electrolyte based on helical silica nanofibers for lithium batteries

RSC Adv. 2021 Oct 18;11(54):33858-33866. doi: 10.1039/d1ra06803b.

Authors

Jiemei Hu¹, Haoran Wang¹, Yonggang Yang¹, Yi Li¹, Qi-Hui Wu²

Affiliations

¹ Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University Suzhou 215123 P. R. China liyi@suda.edu.cn.
² College of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Xiamen Key Lab of Marine Corrosion and Smart Protective Materials, Jimei University Xiamen 361021 China qihui.wu@jmu.edu.cn +86-295-6183523.

Abstract

The replacement of flammable liquid electrolytes by inorganic solid ones is considered the most effective approach to enhancing the safety of Li batteries. However, solid electrolytes usually suffer from low ionic conductivity and poor rate capability. Here we report a unique quasi-solid-state electrolyte based on an inorganic matrix composed of helical tubular silica nanofibers (HSNFs) derived from the self-assembly of chiral low-molecular-weight amphiphiles. The HSNFs/ionic liquid quasi-solid-state electrolyte has high thermal stability (up to ∼370 °C) and good ionic conductivity (∼3.0 mS cm^-1 at room temperature). When tested as the electrolyte in a LiFePO₄/Li cell, excellent rate capability and good cycling stability are demonstrated, suggesting that it has potential be the electrolyte for a new generation of safer Li batteries.