Improvement of ionic conductivity of solid polymer electrolyte based on Cu-Al bimetallic metal-organic framework fabricated through molecular grafting

A composite solid electrolyte comprising a Cu-Al bimetallic metal-organic framework (CAB), lithium salt (LiTFSI) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) was fabricated through molecular grafting to enhance the ionic conductivity of the PEO-based electrolytes. Experimental and molecular dynamics simulation results indicated that the electrolyte with 10 wt.% CAB (PL-CAB-10%) exhibits high ionic conductivity (8.42x10-4 S/cm at 60 degrees C), high Li+ transference number (0.46), wide electrochemical window (4.91 V), good thermal stability, and outstanding mechanical properties. Furthermore, PL-CAB-10% exhibits excellent cycle stability in both Li-Li symmetric battery and Li/PL-CAB10%/LiFePO4 asymmetric battery setups. These enhanced performances are primarily attributable to the introduction of the versatile CAB. The abundant metal sites in CAB can react with TFSI- and PEO through Lewis acid-base interactions, promoting LiTFSI dissociation and improving ionic conductivity. Additionally, regular pores in CAB provide uniformly distributed sites for cation plating during cycling.