Fast and Cooperative Ion Transport in Polymer Based Materials

A major bottleneck limiting the advancement of energy storage and conversion technologies is the development of multifunctional, selective, and highly conductive membranes and solid electrolytes. State-of-the-art batteries rely on liquid electrolytes that exhibit low ion selectivity, poor electrochemical and thermal stability, and are plagued by potential safety hazards associated with dendrite formation, high volatility, and flammability. Similarly, polymer membranes in flow batteries and fuel cells have not achieved the necessary conductivity and selectivity for fast ion transport and suffer from water management issues that restrict operating temperatures due to the need for water (i.e., hydrogen bonding networks) to transport protons. In this presentation, I will discuss progress in the Energy Frontier Research Center on Fast and Cooperative Ion Transport in Polymer-Based Materials (EFRC FaCT) to understand and control fast, correlated ion and proton transport at multiple length and time scales. In particular, I will highlight two recent outcomes: (i) examining the mechanisms controlling the energy barriers for ion hopping in polymer electrolytes and (ii) the design of nanorod-composite systems exhibiting fast ion conductivity. These showcase the synergistic research across the center and the potential for the discovery and design of novel, fast ion conducting polymer electrolytes for next generation storage devices.<br/>This work was supported as part of the Fast and Cooperative Ion Transport in Polymer-Based Materials (FaCT), Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.