INVESTIGATION OF ION-CONDUCTING ORMOLYTES - STRUCTURE-PROPERTY RELATIONSHIPS

Hybrid organic-inorganic composites with ionic properties, so called o rmolytes (organically modified electrolytes) have been prepared by the sol-gel process from mixtures of tetraethoxysilane, tetraethylene gly col, and lithium salt. They show ionic conductivity up to 5 x 10(-5) O MEGA-1 cm-1, with activation energies around 0.6 eV. Their properties have been related to their structure using a multitechnique approach ( IR, DSC, NMR, SAXS). These materials can be described as diphasic syst ems with silica clusters providing the mechanical properties and the o rganic phase allowing the dissolution of large quantities of salts. Op tical transparency and mechanical stability can be explained by the in terpenetration of these two phases at a molecular level.