Solid-electrolyte batteries disadvantages

Although the high temperatxire fuel cell and the sodium--sulphur battery covered in other chapters have generated most of the interest in solid electrolytes, various maybe less spectacular uses of them have been proposed. These applications will be reviewed briefly here trying to point out advantages and disadvantages from a practical point of view. 

The polymer electrolytes discussed so far suffer from a number of disadvantages. Firstly, they exhibit low conductivities in comparison with liquid or solid (crystalline or glassy) electrolytes at or below room temperature. The best all-amorphous systems have conductivities less than 10 S cm at room temperature. These ambient temperature conductivities may be insufficient in some cases for the power required by a lithium battery. Secondly, the interfacial impedances present at both the lithium anode (passivation) and composite cathode (passivation, contact) are in addition to the ohmic losses in the electrolyte. Thirdly, the lowness of cation transference number, although similar to the values in liquid systems, is a major issue since the total conductivity is lower and could limit the use of solvent-free polymer electrolytes except in the form of extremely thin films or above room temperature. 

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