Lithium-ion transport enhancement with bridged ceramic-polymer interface

Ceramic/polymer composite solid electrolytes are emerging as a good strategy to improve the safety and the power density of next-generation battery technologies. This battery technology is, however, limited by the high interfacial resistance across the ceramic/polymer interface at room temperature. Herein, an efficient strategy was proposed to lower the interfacial resistance via building a “bridge” between polymer phase and ceramic phase in the prepared composite solid electrolyte (CSE) and increase its electrochemical window. The prepared composite solid electrolyte possessed a high ionic conductivity of 3.1 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ at room temperature via forming an extra high-speed Li-ion pathway between poly(vinyl ethylene carbonate) (PVEC) polymer phase and ceramic phase (LLZTO) by the aid of the formed chemical bonds and hydrogen bonds. Lithium symmetrical batteries based on CSE exhibit a reduced charge voltage polarization and cycled almost 1000 h at 0.1 mA/cm² without the occurrence of short circuits. This “bridge” strategy provides an effective way to resolve the problem of high interfacial resistance and interface compatibility.