LITHIUM ELECTRODE IN POLYMER ELECTROLYTES

Although solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) lithium rechargeable battery technologies have been demonstrated, in some instances, at the pilot-scale level, the characterization of the reversibility of the lithium anode remains incomplete. Reversibility of the lithium electrode in solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) has been assumed, in most instances, to be better than the reversibility of the lithium electrode in liquid electrolytes. However, approaches recently used to increase the ionic conductivity of the SPE at ambient temperature, which involved the addition of large fractions of liquid electrolytes to the SPE, are likely to reduce severely if not eliminated completely, the benefit, if any, that is associated with using SPEs to improve the reversibility of the lithium electrode. This paper reviews the literature and establishes the status of the state-of-the-art of lithium electrode reversibility in polymer electrolytes.