Science Journey: "Addressing Energy Storage Challenges: Making Electrolytes That Can Help Batteries Store More Energy"

Fernando Villafuerte, PhD student in Material Science

The challenges presented by climate change require that humanity begin the transition to more sustainable sources of energy like wind and solar, in addition to adopting more environmentally friendly transportation solutions like electric vehicles. Energy storage is a crucial part of this equation, but the current standard-bearer, the lithium-ion battery, is at the limit of its energy storage ability because of a component between the battery terminals known as the electrolyte. These electrolytes are made from liquid solutions that can combust, and they are not stable in the presence of pure metal lithium, which if used as a battery terminal, could allow batteries to store more energy in a smaller space. Villafuerte's research focuses on a novel material known as a solid polymer electrolyte, which is similar to the plastics used to make rubber, but can be used as the electrolyte in a battery. Solid polymer electrolytes are more stable against lithium than their liquid cousins, and do not combust. However, they suffer from low ionic conductivity, which is the ability to shuttle the atoms that give up the electricity we use, known as ions, between the battery terminals, which results in a low power output. Villafuerte aims to understand the mechanism by which ions move in a solid polymer electrolyte system, so that we better understand how to improve its conductivity and potentially tailor it for future application in actual rechargeable batteries.