Interface Manipulation of Composite Solid Polymer Electrolyte with Polydopamine to Construct Durable and Fast Li plus Conduction Pathways

Taking advantage of light weight, flexibility, and flame retardancy, solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) provide a feasible solution to these safety concerns and to the enhancement of energy density for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the development of SPEs is still restricted by low ionic conductivity. Herein, we develop a type of SPE filler built by flower-like Co3O4 microspheres as a lithiophilic backbone and polydopamine (PDA) as a multifunctional coating for the engineering of the interphase properties of the polyether-based SPEs. The hierarchical structure of Co3O4 affords large interfacial contact area with SPEs and effectively suppresses the regular crystallinity of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) segments. Moreover, the PDA coating layers with diverse surface functionalities serve as a versatile mediator to finely tune ionic distribution and transport behavior via multiple Lewis acid-base interactions. We uncover the interphase characterizations and their synergistic effects to enhance Li+ conductivity and mechanical/electrochemical stability. This study provides intriguing alternatives for developing composite solid polymer electrolytes (CPEs), for which we further demonstrate the potential application of Co3O4@PDA-based CPEs in all-solid-state LIBs.

Automated summary

By exploiting the advantages of solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) including light weight, flexibility, and flame retardancy, this study addresses the safety concerns and energy density improvement for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The development of SPEs is still hindered by their low ionic conductivity, which can be overcome by a hierarchical structure of flower-like Co3O4 microspheres and a multifunctional coating of polydopamine (PDA) used as a lithiophilic backbone. The interphase characterizations and their effects on Li+ conductivity and mechanical/electrochemical stability are investigated, and the potential application of Co3O4@PDA-based composite solid polymer electrolytes (CPEs) in all-solid-state LIBs is demonstrated.