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Nanoparticle enhanced conductivity in organic ionic plastic crystals : space charge versus strain induced defect mechanism

journal contribution
posted on 2007-08-02, 00:00 authored by Y Shekibi, A Gray-Weale, D MacFarlane, A Hill, Maria ForsythMaria Forsyth
High conductivity in solid-state electrolytes is a critical requirement for many advanced energy and other electrochemical applications. Plastic crystalline materials have shown promise in this regard, and the inclusion of nanosized inorganic particles in both amorphous and crystalline materials has indicated order of magnitude enhancements in ion transport induced by space charge or other defect enhancement. In this paper we present conductivity enhancements in the plastic crystal N,N‘-ethylmethylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide ([C2mpyr][NTf2]) induced by nanosized SiO2 particles. The addition of the nanoparticles dramatically increases plasticity and ion mobility. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) measurements indicate an increase in mean defect size and defect concentration as a result of nanoparticle inclusion. The scaling of the conductivity with size suggests that a “trivial space charge” effect is operable, although a strain induced enhancement of defects (in particular extended defects) is also likely given the observed increase in plasticity.

History

Journal

Journal of physical chemistry Part C : nanomaterials and interfaces

Volume

111

Issue

30

Pagination

11463 - 11468

Publisher

American Chemical Society

Location

Washington, D.C.

ISSN

1932-7447

eISSN

1932-7455

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2007, American Chemical Society