Nanostructured Polymer Particles for High Modulus and High Conductivity Polymer Electrolytes*

We will present a facile new approach for the synthesis of all-polymer nanostructured solid electrolytes that exhibit and unprecedented combination of high modulus and ionic-conductivity at room temperature. Novel nanostructured polymer particles, composed of mikto-arm star-shaped copolymers, were synthesized and used as additives to liquid electrolytes. The mechanical properties of the resulting SPEs are dramatically improved compared to the pure liquid electrolyte (the shear modulus increased by up to 8-orders of magnitude), while the ionic conductivity was maintained close to that of the pure liquid electrolyte. Key to their performance is their morphology that stems from the ability of the mikto-arm copolymers to self-assembly in highly interconnected structures within the liquid electrolytes host. With the help of atomistic molecular dynamics we will show that our strategy offers a tremendous potential for the design of nanostructured polymeric materials where the morphology of the nanostructured SPEs could be precisely controlled as is encrypted within the macromolecular characteristics of the star-shaped nanoparticles.