Nanocomposite lithium ion conducting membranes.

This review describes the properties and characteristics of a class of membranes formed by blends of a lithium salt, LiX, where X is preferably a large soft anion, such as ClO(4) or N(CF(3)SO(2))(2), and a high molecular weight polymer containing Li(+)-coordinating group, such as polyethylene oxide (PEO) with the dispersion of selected ceramic powders, such as TiO(2), Al(2)O(3), and SiO(2), at the nanoscale particle size. These nanocomposite membranes behave as lithium polymer electrolytes, that is, they exhibit a high lithium ion conductivity. Because of this property, the PEO-LiX nanocomposite electrolytes may find an important application as separators in advanced, rechargeable lithium polymer batteries.