Structures of the polymer electrolyte complexes PEO6 : LiXF6 (X = P, Sb), determined from neutron powder diffraction data

The crystal structures of the polymer electrolyte complexes PEO6:LiPF6 and PEO6:LiSbF6 have been obtained from powder diffraction data collected from deuterated molecules on the OSIRIS neutron powder diffractometer at ISIS, R utherford Appleton Laboratory. The structures are similar to that recently reported for the PEO6:LiASF(6) complex and consist of rows of Li+ ions enca psulated within columns formed by pairs of nonhelical PEO chains. The Li+ i on is coordinated by five ether oxygens, The anions reside between the colu mns and are not coordinated to the Li+ ions. Despite broad similarities, th e structures do exhibit differences, and these differences are discussed.