Ionic conductivity transport mechanisms

IP membranes also play an important role in determining the actuator performance. In particular, the electrochemomechanical properties of IP membranes, such as their ion-transport properties (ion-exchange capacity, liquid electrolyte uptake, and ionic conductivity) and mechanical properties (tensile modulus, strength, and elongation), must be evaluated carefully, if one wishes to enhance actuator performance. 

Point defects in solids make it possible for ions to move through the structure. Ionic conductivity represents ion transport under the influence of an external electric field. The movement of ions through a lattice can be explained by two possible mechanisms. Figure 25.3 shows their schematic representation. The first, called the vacancy mechanism, represents an ion that hops or jumps from its normal position on the lattice to a neighboring equivalent but vacant site or the movement of a vacancy in the opposite direction. The second one is an interstitial mechanism where an interstitial ion jumps or hops to an adjacent equivalent site. These simple pictures of movement in an ionic lattice, known as the hopping model, ignore more complicated cooperative motions. 

Solid mixed ionic-electronic conductors (MIECs) exhibit both ionic and electronic (electron-hole) conductivity. Naturally, in any material there are in principle nonzero electronic and ionic conductivities (a i, a,). It is customary to limit the use of the term MIEC to those materials in which a, and 0, 1 do not differ by more than two orders of magnitude. It is also customary to use the term MIEC if a, and Ogi are not too low (o, a i 10 S/cm). Obviously, there are no strict rules. There are processes where the minority carriers play an important role despite the fact that 0,70 1 exceeds those limits and a, aj,i< 10 S/cm. In MIECs, ion transport normally occurs via interstitial sites or by hopping into a vacant site or a more complex combination based on interstitial and vacant sites, and electronic (electron/hole) conductivity occurs via delocalized states in the conduction/valence band or via localized states by a thermally assisted hopping mechanism. With respect to their properties, MIECs have found wide applications in solid oxide fuel cells, batteries, smart windows, selective membranes, sensors, catalysis, and so on. 

The mechanism of ion transport in such systems is not fully elucidated, but it is presumably dependent on the degree of crystallinity of the polymeric complex (which further depends on the temperature and the salt type). The ionic conductivity was initially attributed to cation hopping between fixed coordination sites in the depicted helical tunnel, i.e. in the crystalline part of the polymer. 

Optimization of all of these categories of materials has produced solids in which the ionic conductivity is as large as that normally found in solutions (Fig. 6.1). Such materials are sometimes called super-ionic conductors, but the terms fast ion conductors or solid electrolytes are to be preferred to avoid confusion with metallic superconductors, which transport electrons and holes, not ions, and by a quite different mechanism. 

The first half of this chapter concentrates on the mechanisms of ion conduction. A basic model of ion transport is presented which contains the essential features necessary to describe conduction in the different classes of solid electrolyte. The model is based on the isolated hopping of the mobile ions in addition, brief mention is made of the influence of ion interactions between both the mobile ions and the immobile ions of the solid lattice (ion hopping) and between different mobile ions. The latter leads to either ion ordering or the formation of a more dynamic structure, the ion atmosphere. It is likely that in solid electrolytes, such ion interactions and cooperative ion movements are important and must be taken into account if a quantitative description of ionic conductivity is to be attempted. In this chapter, the emphasis is on presenting the basic elements of ion transport and comparing ionic conductivity in different classes of solid electrolyte which possess different gross structural features. Refinements of the basic model presented here are then described in Chapter 3. 

A method of characterising transport mechanisms in solid ionic conductors has been proposed which involves a comparison of a structural relaxation time, t, and a conductivity relaxation time, t . This differentiates between the amorphous glass electrolyte and the amorphous polymer electrolyte, the latter being a very poor conductor below the 7. A decoupling index has been defined where... 

Polymeric electrolytes can possibly be used to build safe, non-toxic modern battery systems, e.g. Li-batteries. In this context the understanding of the ionic conduction mechanism of dissolved alkali salts is of major importance. Besides macroscopic measurements of transport coefficients, the investigation of mobilities on a molecular level is essential to identify the relevant conduction mechanisms. 

The lithium polymer battery (LPB), shown schematically in Fig. 7.21, is an all-solid-state system which in its most common form combines a lithium ion conducting polymer separator with two lithium-reversible electrodes. The key component of these LPBs is the polymer electrolyte and extensive work has been devoted to its development. A polymer electrolyte should have (1) a high ionic conductivity (2) a lithium ion transport number approaching unity (to avoid concentration polarization) (3) negligible electronic conductivity (4) high chemical and electrochemical stability with respect to the electrode materials (5) good mechanical stability (6) low cost and (7) a benign chemical composition. 

In the following sections closer attention is given to the two principal mechanisms whereby charge is transported in a solid, i.e. electronic and ionic conduction. 

In spite of the high ionic conductivity, there is no guarantee that the IL can transport the desired ions such as metal ions or protons. It is therefore important to analyze the ion transport properties in ILs. The ion conduction mechanism in ILs is different from that in molecular solvents. The ionic conductivity is generally coupled to carrier ion migration and ionic conductivity (a) correlates to diffusion coefficient (D) according to the Nernst-Einstein equation (see Eq. (3.10)) where n and q imply the number of carrier ions and electric charge, respectively. R, T, and F stand for the gas constant, the temperature in K, and the Faraday constant, respectively. 

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