Electrical conductivity of poly(ethylene oxide)—alkali metal salt systems and effects of mixed salts and mixed molecular weights

Highly Efficient Vacuum-Evaporated CsPbBr3 Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes with an Electrical Conductivity Enhanced Polymer-Assisted Passivation Layer

Highly efficient vacuum-deposited CsPbBr₃ perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) are demonstrated by introducing a separate polyethylene oxide (PEO) passivation layer. A CsPbBr₃ film deposited on the PEO layer via thermal co-evaporation of CsBr and PbBr₂ exhibits an almost 50-fold increase in photoluminescence quantum yield intensity compared to a reference sample without PEO. This enhancement is attributed to the passivation of interfacial defects of the perovskite, as evidenced by temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurements. However, direct application of PEO to an LED device is challenging because of the electrically insulating nature of PEO. This issue is solved by doping PEO layers with MgCl₂. This strategy results in an enhanced luminance and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of up to 6887 cd m^-2 and 7.6%, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest EQE reported to date among vacuum-deposited PeLEDs.

Highly efficient supercapacitor using single-walled carbon nanotube electrodes and ionic liquid incorporated solid gel electrolyte

Gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) comprising a low viscosity ionic liquid, that is, 1-propyl-3-methyl imidazolium bis(trifluoromethyl sulfonyl)imide (PMI-TFSI, viscosity 38 cP at 20°C) and a polymer, that is, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) have been prepared using solution cast technique and characterized by impedance spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, optical microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Blending PMI-TFSI with PVA matrix hindered the crystallinity of polymer matrix and presented remarkable enhancement in electrical conductivity with a conductivity maxima at 250 wt% PMI-TFSI. The prepared electric double-layer capacitor using single-walled carbon nanotube as symmetric electrodes and PVA:250 wt% PMI-TFSI as GPE presented a capacitance value of about 28 F g−1.

Biodegradable materials for multilayer transient printed circuit boards

Biodegradable printed circuit boards based on water-soluble materials are demonstrated. These systems can dissolve in water within 10 mins to yield end-products that are environmentally safe. These and related approaches have the potential to reduce hazardous waste streams associated with electronics disposal.

Investigation of ionic conductivity and long-term stability of a LiI and KI coupled diphenylamine quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell

In this work, enhancement of ionic conductivity and long-term stability through the addition of diphenylamine (DPA) in poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) is demonstrated. Potassium iodide (KI) is adopted as the crystal growth inhibitor, and DPA is used as a charge transport enhancer in the electrolyte. The modified electrolyte is used with titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, which is systematically tuned to obtain high surface area. The dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) showed a photocurrent of 14 mAcm2 with a total conversion efficiency of 5.8% under one sun irradiation. DPA enhances the interaction of the TiO2 nanoparticle film and the I-/I3- electrolyte leading to high ionic conductivity (3.5 × 10-3 Scm-1), without compromising on the electrochemical and mechanical stability. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies show that electron transport and electron lifetime are enhanced in the DPA added electrolyte due to reduced sublimation of iodine. The most promising feature of the electrolyte is increased device stability with 89% of the overall efficiency preserved even after 40 days.

Effect of Sodium-mixed Anion Doping in PEO-based Polymer Electrolytes

Three poly(ethylene oxide) based sodium ion-conducting mixed anion systems, namely . PEO: (1 - x )NaI + xNaSCN, PEO:(1 - x )NaI + xNaCH3COO, PEO:(1 - x) NaSCN + xNaCH 3COO have been studied. The characteristic dip in conductivity isotherm for all the three systems was observed below and above the melting of the complex. The isolated cation transference number has also been reported by the combined a.c.—d.c. technique for all three systems. The value of tNa+ was found to be modified due to mixed anion doping. The detailed analysis of the systems under optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, complex impedance spectroscopy and dielectric constant is discussed in the paper. It is shown that the mixed anion doping in polar-non polar combination of the anions is more effective in terms of changes in σ and tNa+ The percentage crystallinity and dielectric constant of the medium are also correlated with the observed effect. The electrolyte dissociation model has been applied to explain the composition-dependent behavior.

Blends of POSS−PEO(n=4)8 and High Molecular Weight Poly(ethylene oxide) as Solid Polymer Electrolytes for Lithium Batteries

Solid polymer electrolyte blends were prepared with POSS-PEO(n=4)8 (3K), poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO(600K)), and LiClO4 at different salt concentrations (O/Li = 8/1, 12/1, and 16/1). POSS-PEO(n=4)8/LiClO4 is amorphous at all O/Li investigated, whereas PEO(600K) is amorphous only for O/Li = 8/1 and semicrystalline for O/Li = 12/1 and 16/1. The tendency of PEO(600K) to crystallize limited the amount of POSS-PEO(n=4)(8) that could be incorporated into the blends, so that the greatest incorporation of POSS-PEO(n=4)(8) occurred for O/Li = 8/1. Blends of POSS-PEO(n=4)(8)/PEO(600K)/LiClO4 (O/Li = 8/1 and 12/1) microphase separated into two amorphous phases, a low T(g) phase of composition 85% POSS-PEO(n=4)(8)/15% PEO(600K) and a high T(g) phase of composition 29% POSS-PEO(n=4)(8)/71% PEO(600K). For O/Li = 16/1, the blends contained crystalline (pure PEO(600K)), and two amorphous phases, one rich in POSS-PEO(n=4)(8) and one rich in PEO(600K). Microphase, rather than macrophase separation was believed to occur as a result of Li(+)/ether oxygen cross-link sites. The conductivity of the blends depended on their composition. As expected, crystallinity decreased the conductivity of the blends. For the amorphous blends, when the low T(g) (80/20) phase was the continuous phase, the conductivity was intermediate between that of pure PEO(600K) and POSS-PEO(n=4)(8). When the high T(g) (70/30, 50/50, 30/70, and 20/80) phase was the continuous phase, the conductivity of the blend and PEO(600K) were identical, and lower than that for the POSS-PEO(n=4)(8) over the whole temperature range (10-90 degrees C). This suggests that the motions of the POSS-PEO(n=4)(8) were slowed down by the dynamics of the long chain PEO(600K) and that the minor, low Tg phase was not interconnected and thus did not contribute to enhanced conductivity. At temperatures above T(m) of PEO(600K), addition of the POSS-PEO(n=4)(8) did not result in conductivity improvement. The highest RT conductivity, 8 x 10(-6) S/cm, was obtained for a 60% POSS-PEO(n=4)(8)/40% PEO(600K)/LiClO4 (O/Li = 12/1) blend.