Oral: Controlling Electrostatics and Solvation to Enhance Conductivity in Structured Electrolytes

Solid-state electrolytes are currently being explored as a safe material capable of addressing consumer energy-storage demands. Solid polymer electrolytes, in particular, offer a high energy density and improved safety when compared to liquid-based electrolytes but tend to have a significantly lower ionic conductivity. We hypothesize that structured ionic liquids can enhance conductivity. Here, we explore the performance of these materials through coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation with and without various amounts of physical solvent being added. While we observe similar phase behavior (incorporating solid, smectic, and liquid phases) to that seen in experiments, we also observe significantly more mobility in the cationic species compared to the anionic species before the system reaches an arrest transition. We further show how the general results of our study can guide the exploration of materials and target the design of new solid electrolytes with enhanced kinetics and the ability to transport multivalent ions.