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Title: Simulation of local ion transport in lamellar block copolymer electrolytes based on electron micrographs

Journal Article · · Journal of Polymer Science. Part B, Polymer Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/polb.24268· OSTI ID:1408414
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3]
  1. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  3. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
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ABSTRACT A method is presented to relate local morphology and ionic conductivity in a solid, lamellar block copolymer electrolyte for lithium batteries, by simulating conductivity through transmission electron micrographs. The electrolyte consists of polystyrene‐ block ‐poly(ethylene oxide) mixed with lithium bis (trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide salt (SEO/LiTFSI), where the polystyrene phase is structural phase and the poly(ethylene oxide)/LiTFSI phase is ionically conductive. The electric potential distribution is simulated in binarized micrographs by solving the Laplace equation with constant potential boundary conditions. A morphology factor, f , is reported for each image by calculating the effective conductivity relative to a homogenous conductor. Images from two samples are examined, one annealed with large lamellar grains and one unannealed with small grains. The average value of f is 0.45 ± 0.04 for the annealed sample, and 0.37 ± 0.03 for the unannealed sample, both close to the value predicted by effective medium theory, 1/2. Simulated conductivities are compared to published experimental conductivities. The value of f Unannealed / f Annealed is 0.82 for simulations and 6.2 for experiments. Simulation results correspond well to predictions by effective medium theory but do not explain the experimental measurements. Observation of nanoscale morphology over length scales greater than the size of the micrographs (∼1 μm) may be required to explain the experimental results. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55 , 266–274

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Vehicle Technologies Office (EE-3V); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1408414
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1464338
Journal Information:
Journal of Polymer Science. Part B, Polymer Physics, Vol. 55, Issue 3; ISSN 0887-6266
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 13 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (2)

Comparison of Li + -ion conductivity in linear and crosslinked poly(ethylene oxide) journal October 2018
Polymer physics across scales: Modeling the multiscale behavior of functional soft materials and biological systems journal December 2019

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
block copolymers
electron microscopy
simulations