In their paper, the experts wrote that their invention came to be as a response to the push to replace the liquid electrolytes in lithium-ion batteries with solid materials such as ceramics or polymers. This addresses issue related to batteries developing dendrites or branchlike structures of solid lithium after going through multiple cycles of charge and discharge.

The team probed the conductivity of the new material and found its potential as an effective battery electrolyte to be promising

Dendrites reduce battery life, cause hotspots and electrical shorts, and sometimes grow large enough to puncture the internal parts of the battery, causing explosive chemical reactions between the electrodes and electrolyte liquids.

“Solid ion-conducting polymers are one option for developing non-liquid electrolytes,” Brian Jing, one of the study’s co-authors, said in a media statement. “But the high-temperature conditions inside a battery can melt most polymers, again resulting in dendrites and failure.”

To address this issue, the researchers developed a network polymer electrolyte in which the cross-linking point can undergo exchange reactions and swap polymer strands. In contrast to linear polymers, these networks actually get stiffer upon heating, which can potentially minimize the dendrite problem. Additionally, they can be easily broken down and resolidified into a networked structure after damage, making them recyclable, and they restore conductivity after being damaged because they are self-healing.

“Most polymers require strong acids and high temperatures to break down,” said Christopher Evans, the lead author for the paper. “Our material dissolves in water at room temperature, making it a very energy-efficient and environmentally friendly process.”