Confinement-entitled morphology and ion transport in ion-containing polymers

Abstract

Polymer electrolytes are a rapidly emerging option for energy storage and conversion, water treatment, sensors, and actuators. The current scientific thrust is to develop practically viable polymer electrolytes, especially in the solid state. Toward this goal, extensive efforts have been made to prepare polymers bearing ionic moieties with various chain architectures via appropriate linking chemistry, yet challenges remain in their low ionic conductivities and/or poor mechanical strengths. This perspective begins with a summary of past and ongoing research on ion-containing polymers, peering into radical approaches that highlight the confinement-entitled features of ion-containing polymers correlating to structure-property relationships. Recent successes in tuning the nanoscale morphologies of ion-tethered polymers are stressed as significant consequences of milestones in this research era. Several emerging themes and future aims in designing ion-containing polymers are outlined for relevant practical enactments, which include end-group chemistry, single-ion polymers, fine-tuned ion clustering behavior, precise sequencing of ionic moieties, and crystalline ionic channels.