Mengjun Sun is currently working at Henan Normal University. She received her PhD in Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 2022. Prof. Jia Xie is her mentor and she is interested in solid-state batteries based on polymer electrolytes, such as design, preparation and electrochemical properties of lithium metal batteries.

Abstract:

The development of the current lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is restricted by theoretical energy densities and safety. Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) employing polymer electrolytes can circumvent some of the drawbacks of the traditional LIBs. Currently, improving the ionic conductivity of polymer electrolytes and stability of electrode/electrolyte interface are critical to constructing high-energy-density LMBs.

The researches aiming at the above problems are carried out from the view of designing electrode/electrolyte interface and structure of PEs. The main contents are as follows: (1) A method of in-situ preparing the poly(ε-caprolactone)-based polymer electrolyte (PCL-PE) is proposed, employing stannous octoate (Sn (Oct)2) as a catalyst. Specially, a LiSn alloy layer is in-situ formed on the surface of lithium metal (Li) anode through the reaction of Sn (Oct)2 with Li, resulting in the uniform lithium plating. (2) A new “polymer-in-salt” system based on poly (ε-caprolactone and DL-lactide) is in-situ prepared. The strategy not only effectively improves compatibility of PCL-PE with Li and high-voltage electrodes but the ion conductivity of PCL-PE.