Electrolytes

The Department of Electrolytes is dedicated to the development and optimization of relevant electrolytes for energy storage, especially of polymer electrolytes and liquid electrolytes. The materials development is based on fundamental aspects such as achievement of optimal charge carrier transport properties, but also is supported by the necessities of possible application scenarios, including processing of the materials.

Characterisation and Simulation

Knowledge-based tailoring of the respective electrolyte properties requires not only electrochemical characterization at the highest technical and scientific level, but also insights from the application of simulation methods based on quantum chemical approaches (DFT) and force-field-based calculations (molecular dynamics). Electrolyte properties are characterised taking interfaces to electrodes and the development of strategies for material processing into account. The research team accompanies the approach by continuous adaptation and further development of necessary experimental methods.

Promising Polymers

A current focus of electrolyte research at HI MS comprises the development of promising polymer electrolytes for possible application in solid state batteries. The department evaluates different material classes regarding different application relevant aspects.

The achievable ionic conductivity of the materials depends on the type of mobile charge carriers and their interactions with the polymer backbone or functional groups of the polymer side chains. These, for example, might be determined with partners from industry and academia by molecular dynamics simulations providing further aspects for optimizing the electrolytes.

Further approaches to material development can be obtained by combining different classes of materials (e.g. polymer-oxide ceramic hybrids) and strategies for processing the polymers into membranes (e.g. by extrusion) for cell construction or by analysing the charge transfer at electrode interfaces.

Optimization of Interfaces and Coating

Another research includes the adaptation and processing of functional coatings for electrodes, the development of additive supported liquid electrolyte formulations as well as efforts towards the optimization of interfaces between electrodes and electrolytes. The latter is particularly important for the electrochemical performance and lifetime of batteries.

All topics are dealt with by an interdisciplinary team with a broad range of expertise and therefore include a number of modern characterization methods and synthesis techniques. In addition, the successful work of the Department of Electrolytes at HI MS is driven forward by intensive cooperative exchange with internal and external partners.

Selected Publications:

Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering 2024, 1, 79, DOI: 10.1038/s44287-023-00006-5

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2024, 16, 21932, DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c02095

Chemical Engineering Journal 2024, 485, 149547, DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2024.149547

ACS Applied Energy Materials 2024, 7, 5893, DOI: 10.1021/acsaem.4c01117

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2024, 121, e2311732121, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2311732121

Joule 2023, 7, 1471, DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2023.06.006

Advanced Functional Materials 2023, 33, 2300501, DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202300501

ACS Applied Energy Materials 2023, 6, 4422, DOI: 10.1021/acsaem.3c00571

Advanced Energy Materials 2023, 13, 2202789, DOI: 10.1002/aenm.202202789

Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 2023, 649, 804, DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.06.147

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2022, 14, 53636, DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c13408

Macromolecular Rapid Communications 2022, 43, 2200335, DOI: 10.1002/marc.202200335

Journal of Power Sources 2022, 538, 231528, DOI: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2022.231528

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2022, 14, 5211, DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c19097

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2021, 13, 39257, DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c08841

Angewandte Chemie, International Edition 2021, 60, DOI: 10.1002/anie.202016716

ACS Applied Polymer Materials 2021, 3, 1573, DOI: 10.1021/acsapm.0c01398

Macromolecules 2021, 54, 11101, DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c02147

Further information:

• BIG-MAP by BATTERY 2030+
• FestBatt
• University of Münster group for Physical Chemistry