Solid Polymer Electrolytes Derived from Crosslinked Polystyrene Nanoparticles Covalently Functionalized with a Low Lattice Energy Lithium Salt Moiety

Three new crosslinked polystyrene nanoparticles covalently attached with low lattice energy lithium salt moieties were synthesized: poly(styrene lithium trifluoromethane sulphonyl imide) (PSTFSILi), poly(styrene lithium benzene sulphonyl imide) (PSPhSILi), and poly(styrene lithium sulfonyl-1,3-dithiane-1,1,3,3-tetraoxide) (PSDTTOLi). A series of solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) were formulated by mixing these lithium salts with high molecular weight poly(ethylene oxide), poly(ethylene glycol dimethyl ether), and lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide. The crosslinked nano-sized polymer salts improved film strength and decreased the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the polymer electrolyte membranes. An enhancement in both ionic conductivity and thermal stability was observed. For example, the SPE film containing PSTFSILi displayed ionic conductivity of 7.52 × 10−5 S cm−1 at room temperature and 3.0 × 10−3 S cm−1 at 70 °C, while the SPE film containing PSDTTOLi showed an even better performance of 1.54 × 10−4 S cm−1 at room temperature and 3.23 × 10−3 S cm−1 at 70 °C.