Nanocomposite polymer electrolytes and their impact on the lithium batterytechnology

Lithium polymer electrolytes formed by dissolving a lithium salt LiX in pol y(ethylene oxide) PEO may find useful application as separators in Lithium rechargeable polymer batteries. The main problems which are still to be sol ved for a complete successful operation of these materials are the reactivi ty of their interface with the lithium metal electrode and the decay of the ir conductivity at temperatures below 70 degreesC. In this paper we demonst rate that a successful approach for overcoming these problems is the disper sion of selected, low-particle size ceramic powders in the polymer mass wit h the aim of developing new types of nanocomposite PEO-LiX polymer electrol ytes characterized by enhanced interfacial stability as well as by improved ambient temperature transport properties. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. A ll rights reserved.