Effect of Residual Solvents on Properties of Composite Solid Electrolytes

Solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) can stabilize lithium (Li) metal anodes and achieve high energy density. However, they often suffer from solvent residues during the preparation. The residual solvent will affect the performance of SSEs. In this paper, we take Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5P3O12 (LAGP)/Poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) composite solid electrolyte (CSE) as an example, the content of the solvent residue of CSE prepared by the solution casting method and its effect on performance are investigated. The result reveals that the solvent content decreases with the increase of drying time. It still contains more than 5 wt % solvent even after vacuum drying for 48 h. The presence of residual solvent promotes the binding of lithium ions (Li+) and carbonyls, which is conducive to the transfer of Li+. When the residual solvent content is high, SSE has high ionic conductivity, cycling capacity, and excellent cycling stability. When the solvent content decreases, the electrochemical window becomes wider. This result is of great significance for the future regulation of SSE solvent content.