Smart Electrolytes: Thermoplastic Elastomer‐Enabled Smart Electrolyte for Thermoresponsive Self‐Protection of Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices (Adv. Mater. 36/2016)

As reported on page 7921, G. Yu and co-workers develop a thermoresponsive smart electrolyte to achieve active control and thermal self-protection of electrochemical energy-storage devices by employing a solution of Pluronic, a commercialized thermoplastic elastomer. The smart electrolyte shows reversible sol-gel transition upon temperature change induced by the different states of polymer micelles in solution. The smart electrolyte exhibits advantages including tunable transition temperatures and great versatility for different transport ions and active materials.