Development and characterization of polymer-based electrolytes and nanostructured electrodes for energy storage devices

Here, we offer an overview of our recent developments on innovative polymer electrolytes for Li- and Na-ion batteries. In our Labs, we mainly develop different kind of polymer electrolytes by means of different techniques, including simple solvent casting and UV-induced photopolymerization (UV-curing), being simple, low-cost and easily scalable to the industrial level. The use of glymes, carbonates or ionic liquids as plasticisers may tailor our electrolytes properties for specific applications. All samples are thoroughly characterized from the physico-chemical and electrochemical viewpoints. They exhibit excellent ionic conductivity and wide electrochemical stability window, which ensure safe operation even at ambient conditions. Electrochemical performances in lab-scale devices are evaluated by means of cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling exploiting different high energy/power density electrode materials, which are prepared by water-based procedures and exploiting green compounds as binders.