Maria Forsyth

Block copolymers (BCPs) as solid electrolytes for batteries are usually designed to have an ion-solvating block for ion conduction and an ionophobic block for providing mechanical strength. Here, we show a novel solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) for sodium batteries based on a poly(vinyl benzoate)-b-poly(diallyldimethyl ammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide) PVBx-b-PDADMATFSIy-b-PVBx ABA triblock copolymer. The SPE triblock copolymer comprises a polymerized ionic liquid (PIL) ion-solvating block combined with NaFSI salt as an internal block and an ionophilic PVB as an external block. Four distinct compositions with varying chain lengths of the blocks were synthesized by reversible addition−fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The neat copolymers were subsequently mixed with NaFSI in a 2:1 mol ratio of Na to ionic monomer units. Through comprehensive analysis using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), it was revealed that the ion coordination within the polymer–salt mixtures undergoes changes based on the composition of the starting neat polymer. Electrochemical evaluations identified the optimal composition for practical application as PVB11.5K-b-PDADMATFSI33K-b-PVB11.5K, showing an ionic conductivity at 70 °C of 4.2 × 10−5 S cm−1. This polymer electrolyte formulation was investigated for sodium in Na|Na symmetrical cells, showing an overpotential of 200 mV at 70 °C at 0.1 mA cm−2. When applied in a sodium–air battery, the polymer electrolyte membrane achieved a discharge capacity of 1.59 mAh cm−2 at 50 °C.