3D Printable Polymer Electrolytes for Ionic Conduction based on Protic Ionic Liquids.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Protic ionic liquids (PILs) offer tunable properties for advanced materials.
• Ionogels (IGs) combine ionic liquids with polymers to create functional solid-state electrolytes.
• Developing processable ionogels with high ionic conductivity is crucial for electrochemical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize ionogels (IGs) based on tri-n-alkylammonium cations and mesylate/triflate anions.
• To investigate the thermal, electrochemical, and ion transport properties of these IGs.
• To explore the feasibility of 3D printing these ionogels for structured applications.

Main Methods:

• Incorporation of PILs into a polymer matrix to form ionogels.
• Thermal analysis (e.g., TGA, DSC).
• Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) for ionic conductivity measurements.
• Pulsed-field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (PFG-NMR) for ion diffusion studies.
• Stereolithography for 3D printing.

Main Results:

• Synthesized a range of PIL-based ionogels.
• Achieved ionic conductivities in the range of 10⁻⁴–10⁻³ S/cm⁻¹ at elevated temperatures.
• Observed ion diffusion coefficients around 10⁻¹¹ m²/s.
• Demonstrated successful 3D printing of an ionogel with 70 wt% IL content using stereolithography.

Conclusions:

• The developed ionogels exhibit good thermal and electrochemical stability.
• These ionogels show significant ionic conductivity and ion mobility.
• The ability to 3D print these ionogels opens avenues for creating structured, ion-conductive materials for advanced applications, such as membranes.