Recent Development in Topological Polymer Electrolytes for Rechargeable Lithium Batteries

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) are still being considered as a candidate to replace liquid electrolytes for high-safety and flexible lithium batteries due to their superiorities including light-weight, good flexibility, and shape versatility. However, inefficient ion transportation of linear polymer electrolytes is still the biggest challenge. To improve ion transport capacity, developing novel polymer electrolytes are supposed to be an effective strategy. Nonlinear topological structures such as hyperbranched, star-shaped, comb-like, and brush-like types have highly branched features. Compared with linear polymer electrolytes, topological polymer electrolytes possess more functional groups, lower crystallization, glass transition temperature, and better solubility. Especially, a large number of functional groups are beneficial to dissociation of lithium salt for improving the ion conductivity. Furthermore, topological polymers have strong design ability to meet the requirements of comprehensive performances of SPEs. In this review, the recent development in topological polymer electrolytes is summarized and their design thought is analyzed. Outlooks are also provided for the development of future SPEs. It is expected that this review can raise a strong interest in the structural design of advanced polymer electrolyte, which can give inspirations for future research on novel SPEs and promote the development of next-generation high-safety flexible energy storage devices.

Nature-inspired slippery polymer thin film for ice-repellent applications

In this study, the authors investigated the anti-icing performance of a hierarchical slippery polymer thin film that is inspired by structures of the lotus leaf and Nepenthes pitcher plant. The polymer solution was mixed with the lubricant at the appropriate concentration to achieve slippery properties. The dry etching method followed by the spin-coating process was used to generate a uniform polymer microstructure on the thin film. The polymer nanostructure was then yielded by an additional plasma-etching method using carbon tetrafluoride (CF4) gas. The anti-icing efficiency was then compared with that of the non-functional samples to demonstrate the advantages of combination in all criteria. Moreover, a theoretical prediction based on the free-energy approach was used to measure the nucleation time at the interface and illustrated good agreement with real-time measurement. The results propose a new and facile approach for outdoor anti-icing applications.

Superhydrophobic and slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces formed by the self-assembly of a hybrid ABC triblock copolymer and their antifouling performance

Superhydrophobic and slippery liquid-infused porous coatings were fabricated from a hybrid ABC triblock copolymer using a stepwise “bottom-up” strategy.

Stable Superhydrophobic Porous Coatings from Hybrid ABC Triblock Copolymers and Their Anticorrosive Performance

Superhydrophobic porous surfaces with ultralow water adhesion were successfully fabricated via micelle fusion-aggregation assembly of newly designed linear hybrid ABC triblock copolymers, where A, B, and C denote poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), polystyrene (PS), and poly(methacrylolsobutyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane) (PiBuPOSSMA), respectively. It was found that aggregation behavior in diluted solution and subsequent formation of nano-/microscale hierarchical surfaces in condensed state were affected by the molar mass of the triblock copolymers, which were evidenced by dynamic light scattering (DLS), SEM, and TEM studies. Increasing of PiBuPOSSMA content can significantly increase roughness of the resulting coatings, leading to an increase of apparent water contact angles from 145.7 ± 1° to 157.3 ± 1.1°. The optimized PDMS-PS-PiBuPOSSMA surface possesses unique nano/microscale hierarchical morphology, large apparent water contact angle (157.3 ± 1.1°), small roll-off angle (∼3°), low contact angle hysteresis (∼0.9°), long-term stability, and good chemical and thermal resistance. Moreover, it exhibits superior performance in preventing corrosive species such as ions and water in contact with the underlying metallic substrate (stainless steel) in 3.5 wt % NaCl aqueous solution with high inhibition efficiency and long-term preservability, which could be attributed to the synergistic effect of superhydrophobic surface and capillary action arising from the underlying porous structure.