By employing innovative molecular design, the team has developed a novel functional material that offers a new pathway to solving the key challenges of high interfacial resistance and low ion transport efficiency, which have long hindered the development of solid-state batteries. The related research findings have been published in the prestigious international journal Advanced Materials.
Solid-state lithium batteries are widely recognized as a strategic direction for next-generation energy storage due to their high safety and energy density. However, the solid-solid contact between the electrode and electrolyte in conventional solid-state batteries leads to poor interfacial contact, resulting in high ionic transport resistance and low efficiency-a major bottleneck for commercial application.
To overcome this challenge, the research team adopted a novel approach by leveraging the design flexibility of polymer molecules. They ingeniously introduced both ion-conducting ethoxy groups and electrochemically active short sulfur chains onto the polymer backbone. This created a new multifunctional material that achieves molecular-level interface integration. This material not only possesses high ionic conductivity but can also intelligently switch its behavior between ion transport and electrochemical energy storage based on the operating voltage window.
The integrated flexible battery constructed with this material demonstrates exceptional mechanical robustness, withstanding over 20,000 repeated bending cycles without performance degradation. This makes it highly suitable for demanding applications in flexible and wearable electronics, such as rollable displays and smart clothing. Furthermore, when used as a polymer electrolyte in a composite cathode, the material successfully increased the cathode's energy density to 86%, significantly enhancing the overall battery performance.
This research not only highlights the great potential of this new material design but also provides a new research paradigm and solid technical foundation for developing high-performance, high-safety next-generation solid-state batteries, marking a critical step forward for China in the field of flexible energy storage technology.
