Case 09722

Layer-by-layer assembly of ethylene glycol/oxide solid electrolyte with easily tunable transport properties and increased membrane conductivity

Keywords:

Solid polymer electrolyte, polycation, layer-by-layer assembly, ethylene glycol, ionic conduction, mechanical stability, chemical cross-linking, lithium salts, electrolyte thickness

Applications:

Microbatteries or micro-fuel cells for small-scale power delivery, electrochemical sensors (such as biopassivating membranes for electrical sensor protection in vivo)

Problem:

Ionic mobility in crystallization of polyethylene oxide films

Technology:

This invention is a solid polymer electrolyte created using the layer-by-layer assembly process, employing electrostatic, hydrogen-bonding, or other nonspecific interactions. These solid electrolyte systems contain significant ethylene glycol or ethylene oxide content, which is added as a part of the constituent polymers. The solid electrolyte is assembled on a substrate by alternating exposure to dilute solutions of polycation and polyanion or hydrogen-bonding donor and hydrogen-bonding acceptor. Ethylene glycol content can be added by grafting to polycations or polyanions using amidation chemistry with readily available amine or carboxylic acid-terminated polyethylene glycols. This method provides a flexible way of manipulating the mechanical properties of the matrix and the ion mobility in the matrix.

Advantages:
  • Reduces solid electrolyte thickness to allow for increased membrane conductivity
  • Enhances performance without plasticizer or elevated temperature
  • Easily tunable transport properties of high quality electrolyte films

Inventors:
  • Professor Paula Hammond(Department of Material Science and Engineering, MIT)
  • Dean DeLongchamp (Department of Chemical Engineering, MIT)

Intellectual Property:

U.S. Patent Number 7,799,467, filed on September 21, 2010

Publications:

D. DeLongChamp and P. Hammond. Layer-by-Layer Assembly of PEDOT/Polyaniline Electrochromic Devices. Adv. Mat., 13(19). 1455-1459 (2001). DOI: 10.1002/1521-4095(200110)13:19<1455::AID-ADMA1455>3.0.CO;2-7

Last revised: April 29, 2013

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