Highly mobile segments in crystalline poly(ethylene oxide)8:NaPF6 electrolytes studied by solid-state NMR spectroscopy

J Chem Phys. 2014 Feb 21;140(7):074901. doi: 10.1063/1.4865109.

Abstract

Two types of high-crystallinity poly(ethylene oxide)/NaPF6 electrolytes with ethylene oxide (EO)/Na molar ratios of 8:1 and 6:1, termed as PEO8:NaPF6 and PEO6:NaPF6 with Mw = 6000 g mol(-1) were prepared, and their ionic conductivity, structure, and segmental motions were investigated and compared. PEO8:NaPF6 polymer electrolyte exhibits the room-temperature ionic conductivity 7.7 × 10(-7) S cm(-1) which is about five times higher than the PEO6:NaPF6. By variable-temperature measurements of static powder spectra and (1)H spin-lattice relaxation time in rotation frame ((1)H T1ρ), we demonstrate that crystalline segments are more highly mobile in the crystalline PEO8:NaPF6 with higher ionic conductivity than in the PEO6:NaPF6 with lower ionic conductivity. The large-angle reorientation motion of polymer segments in the PEO8:NaPF6 onsets at lower temperature (∼233 K) with a low activation energy 0.31 eV that is comparable with that of the pure PEO crystal. Whereas, the large-angle reorientation motion of polymer segments in the PEO6:NaPF6 starts around 313 K with a high activation energy of 0.91 eV. As a result of the temperature-enhanced large-angle reorientations, the (13)C static powder lineshape changes markedly from a low-temperature wide pattern with apparent principal values of chemical shift δ33 < δ22 < δ11 to a high-temperature narrow pattern of uniaxial chemical shift anisotropy δ33 > δ22 (δ11). It is suggested that the segmental motion in crystalline PEO-salt complex promotes ionic conductivity.