High-Performance Electrospun Poly(vinylidene fluoride)/Poly(propylene carbonate) Gel Polymer Electrolyte for Lithium-Ion Batteries

A novel high-performance gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) based on an electrospun polymer membrane of poly(vinylidene fluoride)/poly(propylene carbonate) (PVdF/PPC) was prepared and investigated for high-performance lithium-ion battery applications. This study presents a methodology for introducing PPC into PVdF-based GPEs designed for high-performance lithium-ion batteries. SEM images and porosity measurements showed that the electrospun membrane had a uniform and highly interconnected porous structure with an average fiber diameter of 300–850 nm. Such a morphology resulted in excellent electrolyte uptake amount (500 wt %) and retention in PVdF/PPC membrane. The DSC result indicated that the PVdF crystallinity was deteriorated by the incorporation of PPC. The PVdF/PPC electrospun membrane showed significantly higher ionic conductivity (4.05 mS·cm–1) than that of the PVdF electrospun membrane (2.11 mS·cm–1) at 30 °C. The PVdF/PPC GPE was stable at a potential higher than 5.2 V (versus Li+/Li). The capacity of Li/CGE-20/LiFePO4 was 160, 151, 133, 119, and 102 mAh g–1 at a charge/discharge rate of 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, and 2 C, respectively.