Beijing, Argonne researchers develop new solid-state Li-ion battery

Consists of a solid nanocomposite electrolyte using porous silica matrices with Li-ion conducting ionic liquids

Researchers from the Beijing Institute of Technology and Argonne National Laboratory have developed a new solid-state Li-ion battery technology, reports Green Car Congress. The battery consists of a solid nanocomposite electrolyte using porous silica matrices with Li-ion conducting ionic liquids (IL), mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB) as anode material and was tested with LiCoO2 (LCO), LiNi⅓Co⅓Mn⅓O2 (NCM) and LiFePO4 (LFP) as the cathode materials. The ionic liquid used was [BMI][TFSI]/ LiTFSI, where [BMI][TFSI] is 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonylimide), and LiTFSI is lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate. They incorporated this IL into mesoporous silica matrices via a nonaqueous sol−gel route.