Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 3, 2025

Solid-state Graft Copolymer Electrolytes for Lithium Battery Applications
Published on: August 12, 2013
Enhanced Li-Ion Transport through Selectively Solvated Ionic Layers of Single-Ion Conducting Multiblock Copolymers
Jinseok Park1, Anne Staiger2, Stefan Mecking2
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States.
Abstract:
We demonstrate enhanced Li+ transport through the selectively solvated ionic layers of a single-ion conducting polymer. The polymer is a precisely segmented ion-containing multiblock copolymers with well-defined Li+SO3- ionic layers between crystallized linear aliphatic 18-carbon blocks. X-ray scattering reveals that the dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) molecules selectively solvate the ionic layers without disrupting the crystallization of the polymer backbone. The amount of DMSO (∼21 wt %) calculated from the increased layer spacing is consistent with thermogravimetric analysis. The ionic conductivity through DMSO-solvated ionic layers is >104 times higher than in the dried state, indicating a significant enhancement of ion transport in the presence of this solvent. Dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS) further elucidates the role of the structural relaxation time (τ) and the number of free Li+ (n) on the ionic conductivity (σ). Specifically, DRS reveals that the solvation of ionic domains with DMSO contributes to both accelerating the structural relaxation and the dissociation of ion pairs. This study is the initial demonstration that selective solvation is a viable design strategy to improve ionic conductivity in nanophase separated, single-ion conducting multiblock copolymers.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Ion Exchange
Pore Transport and Ion-Pair Transport
Pore transport, also known as convective transport, is a process where small molecules like urea, water, and sugars rapidly cross cell membranes as though there were channels or pores in the membrane. Although direct microscopic evidence is limited but the concept of pores or channels is widely accepted based on physiological evidence. Despite the lack of direct...
Facilitated Diffusion
In this process, substrates such as organic compounds and ions interact with a transporter on one side, triggering conformational changes in proteins that enable...
Facilitated Transport
The Significance of Membrane Transport
Transporters facilitate either an active or passive movement of solutes. They can allow a single-molecule transport down its...

