Poly(Ethylene Oxide)/Graphene Oxide Polymer Nanocomposite Electrolyte for Lithium Ion Batteries

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) can resolve the safety problems associated with the traditional liquid electrolytes while offering mechanical stability and thin film manufacturability. The main issue with SPEs is the lower ionic conductivity at room temperature compared to that of liquid electrolytes. Nanosized ceramic powders are known to enhance the ionic conductivity as well as the mechanical stability of solid polymer electrolytes. In this study, graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were used as nanosized fillers in polyethylene oxide (PEO) electrolyte. We demonstrated that about an order of magnitude improvement in lithium-ion conductivity, as high as 10-4 S/cm at room temperature, was achieved with GO fillers. We used thermal analysis, impedance spectroscopy, fourier transform infrared, and morphology analysis to investigate the GO/PEO films. A significant improvement in the tensile strength of the polymer electrolyte was observed with only 1 wt % GO fillers while the % elongation remains uncompromised.