Solid polymer Electrolytes: Attempts to improve conductivity.

When a salt and polymer containing coordination sites are dissolved together in an appropriate solvent, a complex of the polymer with the salt may be formed. As the solvent is removed, the solid complex that is left (from some polymers) exhibits the unusual property of being a fast ion conductor. In order to be useful as a solid electrolyte in battery systems, for example, conductivities have to be at least on the order of 10 sup - 3 SCM sup -1 at room temperature. To attempt to improve conductivity we have examined several approaches. These include the preparation of new polymer-salt complexes, the use of soluble additives that would provide conduction pathways, and the use of certain insoluble additives that might also tend to improve electrical properties. In this paper we report on these attempts and the effect that such materials have on conductivities.