Abstract
The stringent safety and sustainability requirements for electrolytes used in lithium batteries have led to significant research efforts into alternative materials. Here, a quasi-solid electrolyte based on biodegradable bacterial cellulose (BC) was successfully synthesized via a simple ball milling method. The BC provides plenty of sites for the attachment of ionic liquid electrolytes (ILEs) as well as ion transport channels. Moreover, the O-H groups contained in the BC molecular chains interact with anions in ILEs to form hydrogen bonds, which promotes the dissociation of the lithium salts. The prepared electrolytes (BC-ILEs) have good thermal stability with a decomposition temperature exceeding 300 °C and high ionic conductivities. The Li/BC-ILE/LiFePO4 battery exhibits remarkable electrochemical performance. More importantly, the results of the Fehling test verify that the electrolyte can be degraded by cellulase. The quasi-solid electrolyte broadens the range of electrolytes for lithium batteries and provides new avenues to explore safe and eco-friendly materials.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 13950-13958 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | ACS applied materials & interfaces |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 25 Mar 2020 |
Keywords
- bacterial cellulose
- biodegradable
- hydrogen bond
- lithium battery
- quasi-solid electrolyte
- thermal stability