Biphasic epoxy-ionic liquid structural electrolytes: minimising feature size through cure cycle and multifunctional block-copolymer addition
File(s)Wendong_2021_Multifunct._Mater._4_035003.pdf (1.83 MB)
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Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Structural electrolytes provide mechanical properties approaching structural resin combined with a high degree of ionic conductivity. Here, structural electrolytes based on bisphenol A diglycidyl ether and the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide (EMIM-TFSI) were synthesised through reaction induced phase separation (RIPS) using isophorone diamine (iPDA) as a curing agent. The microstructure and properties of the resulting materials were controlled through both the initial formulations and the curing temperature. Curing at room temperature generated a bi-continuous structure and improved both mechanical performance and ionic conductivity of the resulting structural electrolytes. The balance between properties can be systematically adjusted; for example, a promising Young's modulus of 800 MPa was obtained simultaneously with an ionic conductivity of 0.28 mS cm−1, for a formulation containing 35 vol% EMIM-TFSI. The lengthscale of the structural features was reduced by an order of magnitude by introducing multifunctional block-copolymers (MF-bcP) based on glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and quaternised (2-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA). Small angle neutron scattering (SANS), obtained during curing, identified at least two structural phases of different length scale, for the formulations containing MF-bcP, in agreement with microstructures observed using scanning electron microscopy. Such structural electrolytes may be required when using structural electrodes that also have finer characteristic lengthscales. The addition of the MF-bcP to formulations containing 35 vol% EMIM-TFSI produced structural electrolytes with a Young's modulus of 530 MPa and an ionic conductivity of 0.64 mS cm−1.
Date Issued
2021-09-09
Date Acceptance
2021-08-18
Citation
Multifunctional Materials, 2021, 4 (3), pp.1-12
ISSN
2399-7532
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Start Page
1
End Page
12
Journal / Book Title
Multifunctional Materials
Volume
4
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Clean Sky Joint Undertaking
Identifier
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2399-7532/ac1ea7
Grant Number
EP/P007465/1
738085
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-09-09