Kinetic Investigation of the Solvation of Lithium Salts in Siloxanes

The solvation of lithium salts in siloxanes was investigated with the aim to understand the key barriers that limit the ionic conductivity of siloxane-based electrolytes. The conductivity and kinetic data were measured for electrolytes with different salts, different salt concentrations, and solvents. The results show that both the conductivity and the kinetics of ionic transportation were greatly impacted by the specific interactions between ions and the solvent molecules. The high content of ion pairs in the electrolytes can be one of the main reasons for the low ionic conductivity observed in the siloxane-based electrolytes.