Advances and prospects of PVDF based polymer electrolytes

Exploring highly foldable batteries with no safety hazard is a crucial task for the realization of portable, wearable, and implantable electric devices. Given these concerns, developing solid-state batteries is one of the most promising routes to achieve this aspiration. Because of the excellent flexibility and processability, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) based electrolytes possess great potential to pack high energy density flexible batteries, however, suffers the various intrinsic shortcomings such as inferior ionic conductivity, a high degree of crystallinity, and lack of reactive groups. Clearing the progress of the present state and concluding the specific challenges faced by PVDF based electrolytes will help to develop PVDF based polymer batteries. In this review, we summarize the recent progress of gel polymer electrolytes and all solid polymer electrolytes based on PVDF. The ion transport mechanisms and preparation methods of PVDF based electrolytes are briefly introduced. Meanwhile, the current design principle and properties of electrolytes are highlighted and systematically discussed. Some peculiar modified strategies performed in lithium–sulfur batteries and lithium–oxygen batteries are also included. Finally, this review describes the challenges and prospects of some solid-state electrolytes to provide strategies for manufacturing high-performance PVDF electrolytes aimed at practical application with flexible requirements.