Preparation and electrochemical properties of composite polymer electrolytes containing 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate salts

The effects of room-temperature molten salt addition on the micro-structure and electrochemical properties of composite electrolytes (CEs) based on poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/ethylene carbonate (EC)/LiBF₄ were studied. Additional salt, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMIBF₄), was found to influence the crystalline structure and heterogeneous morphology, resulting in changes to the ionic conductivity of the CE. The CE containing 0.2 mol of EMIBF₄ showed a small crystallinity, 27.9%. These CEs showed the highest ion conductivity, 3.1 × 10^-4 S/cm, five times higher than that of the pristine PEO/EC/LiBF₄. This enhanced conductivity originated from the decreased crystallinity and improved ion transference due to a Lewis acid-base interaction. The CE containing 0.3 mol of EMIBF₄ showed decreased conductivity due to the lower mobility, reflecting the high viscosity of the molten salt.