O presente trabalho visou preparar e caracterizar eletrólitos poliméricos (EP) à base de poli(vinil butirato) (PVB) com diferentes sais de lítio (LiClO4, LiCF3SO3 e LiI/I2), com ou sem o plastificante g-butirolactona (GBL), além de viabilizar a aplicação dos mesmos em dispositivos eletrocrômicos e células solares. Observou-se, através das análises por espectroscopia de impedância eletroquímica, que o PVB é capaz de solvatar no máximo 40% de sal de lítio em massa. Foi verificado que as condutividades iônicas dessas amostras, em função do aumento da temperatura, podem ser explicadas pelo modelo Vogel-Tammann-Fulcher, e que o eletrólito PF04 (PVB com 40% de LiCF3SO3) possui o maior valor de condutividade (1,5´10-4 S/cm) com relação às outras amostras. Os espectros de infravermelho das amostras estudadas mostraram um deslocamento nos picos correspondentes às carbonilas da matriz polimérica em resposta à coordenação das mesmas com íons Li+. Os resultados da espectroscopia Raman comprovaram a presença do par redox (I3-/I-) no eletrólito com LiI/I2. Os difratogramas de raios-X do PVB evidenciaram um pico largo centrado em 20º (2q) com 800 c.p.s. de intensidade, a adição de LiI/I2 e LiCF3SO3 ao polímero reduziu as intensidades para 750 e 700 c.p.s respectivamente, ao contrário do observado com LiClO4, onde se nota que o sal não foi completamente solvatado pelo polímero. A micrografia obtida por microscopia eletrônica de varredura (SEM) do eletrólito com 23% de LiClO4 (amostra P04) mostraram evidências de aglomerados iônicos na superfície. As análises por calorimetria exploratória diferencial (DSC) mostraram que um aumento na concentração de sal adicionado ao polímero causou uma diminuição na temperatura de transição vítrea (Tg), e que os eletrólitos possuem em torno de 44% de cristalinidade. Os eletrólitos P04 e PF04 foram aplicados em janelas eletrocrômicas, apresentando uma diferença de 10,5 e 9,3% respectivamente entre os estados colorido e descolorido. O eletrólito com LiI/I2 foi aplicado em célula solar gerando uma fotocorrente máxima de 1,09 mA/cm2 e eficiência de 0,41% sob a irradiação de 100 mW/cm2. Eletrólitos géis com adição de 90% γ-butirolactona também foram aplicados em células solares, os valores de fotocorrente e eficiência foram incrementados (5,82 mA/cm2 e 2,1%, respectivamente). / The aim of the present study was to prepare and characterize polymer electrolytes (EP) based on poly(vinyl butyrate) (PVB) with different lithium salts (LiClO4, LiCF3SO3 and LiI/I2) and/or containing g-butyrolactone (GBL), and to apply them in electrochromic devices and solar cells. It was observed through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy that the PVB is able to solvate up to 40% in weight of lithium salt. It was found that the ionic conductivity of these samples, as a function of temperature, can be explained by Vogel-Tammann-Fulcher model, and the electrolyte PF04 (PVB with 40% of LiCF3SO3) had the highest conductivity value of 1,5´10-4 S/cm when compared to other samples. Infrared spectra of the samples showed a shift in the peaks corresponding to the carbonyl groups of the polymer matrix in response to their coordination with Li+ ions. The results of Raman spectroscopy confirmed the presence of the redox couple (I3-/I-) in the electrolyte with LiI/I2 (PVB04). The X-ray diffractograms of the PVB showed a broad peak centered at 20 (2q) com intensity of 800 cps. The addition of LiI/I2 and LiCF3SO3 to the polymer matrix decreased the intensities to 750 and 700 cps respectively, but not after the LiClO4 addition, which was explained by its not complete solvatation by the polymer matrix. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) pictures of electrolyte with 23% of LiClO4 (P04 sample) showed evidences of ion clusters on the surface. The analyzes via Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) showed that an increase in the concentration of the salt added to the polymer matrix caused a decrease in glass transition temperature (Tg), and that electrolytes are about 44% crystalline. The electrolytes P04 and PF04 were applied to electrochromic windows (ECDs) and showed a transmittance difference of 10.5 and 9.3%, respectively between the colored and discolored states. The electrolyte with LiI/I2 was applied to dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) generating a maximum photocurrent of 1.09 mA/cm2 and 0.41% of efficiency under irradiation of 100 mW/cm2. Gel electrolytes containing 90% of γ-butyrolactone were applied to DSSC and showed 5.82 mA/cm2 of photocurrent and 2.1% of efficiency.

Blends containing methoxyoligooxyethyleneglycol (MPEGs) (MW 350 and 550) and bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide lithium (LiTFSI) salt were prepared by solution blending process using tetrahydrofuran (THF) as a solvent. The ionic conductivity of the blends of different compositions were determined at four temperatures i.e. 25°C, 40°C, 60°C and 70°C. A maximum ionic conductivity value of 3.9x10-3 S cm-1 at 25°C was obtained for the blends containing MPEG-350 at an ethylene oxide to lithium salt ratio of 1:10. The ionic conductivity increases with increasing temperature and shows that the ion transport is aided by the segmental motion of the MPEG chains. 7Li NMR spectroscopy was used to study the nature and dynamics of the salt clusters in the blends

Yttria stabilized Zirconia (8YSZ) is an extensively used solid electrolyte, which finds applications in electrochemical sensors, solid oxide fuel cells and gate oxide in MOSFETs. Recent studies report that YSZ thin films are better performers than their bulk counterparts, in terms of ionic conductivity even at moderate temperatures. YSZ thin films also attract attention with the scope of device miniaturization. However, most of the studies available in the literature on YSZ thin films focus mainly on their electrical characterization. In this work, YSZ thin films were deposited, characterized and possible use of sensors were evaluated. In the present work, 8 mol% yttria stabilized zirconia thin films were deposited using RF magnetron reactive sputtering under different deposition conditions. Films with thicknesses ranging from few tens to few hundreds of nanometres were deposited. The deposited films were subjected to morphological, structural, compositional and electrical characterizations. Deposition and annealing conditions were optimized to obtain dense, stoichiometric and crystalline YSZ thin films. The ionic conductivity of 200 nm nanocrystal line thin film was found to be two orders of magnitude higher than the bulk. The ionic conductivity increased with the decrease in film thickness. Compositional analyses of a set of YSZ thin films revealed free surface yttrium segregation. The free surface segregation of dopants can locally alter the surface chemistry and influence the oxygen transfer kinetics across the electrode-electrolyte interface. Although number of reports are available on the segregation characteristics in YSZ bulk, no reports are available on yttria segregation in YSZ thin film. Hence, this work reports detailed investigations on the free surface yttria segregation in YSZ thin films using angle resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Influence of annealing temperature, film thickness, annealing time, and purity on the segregation concentration was determined. It was found that the most important factor that determines the segregation was found to be the target purity. The segregation depth profile analysis showed that the segregation layer depth was proportional to segregation concentration. Free surface segregation reduced the ionic conductivity of the YSZ thin films roughly about a factor. However, segregation did not affect the film’s morphology, grain size, crystallinity and activation energy. The difference in ionic conductivity observed in the segregated and clean YSZ films suggests that dopant free surface segregation could also be one of the reasons for the variable ionic conductivity reported in the literature. For using YSZ in miniaturized devices, micro-structuring of YSZ is important. It has been reported that the wet etching techniques available for YSZ were not repeatable and do not etch annealed YSZ samples. Reactive ion etching (RIE) is better suited for YSZ patterning due to its capability to offer high resolution, easy control and tenable anisotropic/isotropic pattern transfer for batch processing. Although reports are available on the dry etching of zirconia and yttria thin films, no studies were reported on the dry etching of YSZ thin films. In this work, inductively coupled reactive ion etching (ICP-RIE) using fluorine and chlorine chemistries were employed to etch YSZ thin films. Optimized etching conditions were identified by varying different process parameters like, type of gas, gas flow rate, RF power, ICP power, chamber pressure and carrier wafer in the ICP-RIE process. Optimized conditions were chosen by examining the etch depth, composition analyses before and after etch using XPS, selectivity towards SiO2 (which is the most common buffer layer) and surface roughness. Etch chemistries involved in a particular plasma (SF6, Cl2 and BCl3) were discussed with the help of surface composition and etch thicknesses. The results showed that etching YSZ with BCl3 plasma at optimized conditions yielded best results through oxygen-scavenging mechanism. A maximum etch rate of 53 nm/min was obtained in BCl3 plasma using PECVD Si3N4 carrier wafer at an ICP power of 1500 W, RF power of 100 W, chamber pressure of 5 mTorr with 30 sccm BCl3 flow. Sensing devices were designed by employing YSZ thin film as solid electrolyte and nickel oxide and gold thin film as sensing and reference electrodes, respectively to evaluate the possible use of YSZ thin film in miniaturized NO2 sensor. The electrodes were deposited in inter-digitated pattern. Two types of electrodes were designed with different number of fingers in symmetric and asymmetric configurations. The NO2 sensing was performed in the concentration range of 25 to 2000 ppm at three different temperatures, 673, 773 and 873 K in mixed potential and impedance metric modes. The mixed potential type measurements were carried out only for asymmetric cell in two different electrode configurations. The impedance metric type measurements were carried out for both symmetric and asymmetric cells in two different electrode configurations. Preliminary NO2 sensing experiments in both the types of measurements revealed that in devices with electrodes having more fingers were better in performance. In mixed potential type sensors, sensitivity was measured as the amount of voltage generated when the sensor was exposed to a test gas. The generated voltage was found to be proportional to the logarithm of NO2 concentration in the entire measurement range (50 to 2000 ppm) with the regression fitting parameter, adj.R2 around 0.97 to 0.99 in all the cases. A maximum potential of 271 mV was measured with 2000 ppm NO2 at 873 K. The response and recovery times of the sensors were sensitive to the operating temperature. In impedance metric mode, the sensitivities were measured as the variation in the low frequency phase angle (∆ φ) when the gas concentration is changed. The frequency range of the measurement was from 0.01 Hz to100 kHz. The response time in the impedance metric sensors was comparable to that of mixed potential sensors. But the recovery time in impedance metric sensors was much was slower than the mixed potential type for all the concentrations. The sensors showed linear response only in a narrow range of 50 to 500 ppm with regression fitting value, R2 around 0.98 in all the cases. Above 500 ppm, the sensitivity value was observed to be saturated. From the gas sensing studies performed on the miniaturized sensors, it was found that the mixed potential type sensing mode is better than the impedance metric type in YSZ thin film based devices. However detailed interference gas studies were needed before drawing any conclusion. In summary, the studies presented in the work have contributed to the understanding of free surface yttria segregation behaviour in YSZ thin films. Micromachining conditions were optimized for both pristine and annealed YSZ thin films. Suitability of YSZ thin film based miniaturized NO2 gas sensor was evaluated.

The magnificent development of on-board solutions for electronics has resulted in the race towards scaling down of autonomous micro-power sources. In order to maintain the reliability of miniaturized devices and to reduce the power dissipation in high density memories like CMOS RAM, localized power for such systems is highly desirable. Therefore these micro-power sources need to be integrated in to the electronic chip level, which paved the way for the research and development of rechargeable thin film batteries (TFB). A Thin film battery is defined as a solid-state electrochemical source fabricated on the same scale as and using the same type of processing techniques used in microelectronics. Various aspects of deposition and characterization of LiCoO2/LiPON/Sn thin film battery are investigated in this thesis. Prior to the fabrication of thin film battery, individual thin film layers of cathode-LiCoO2, electrolyte-LiPON and anode-Sn were optimized separately for their best electrochemical performance. Studies performed on cathode layer include theoretical and experimental aspects of deposition of electrochemically active LiCoO2 thin films. Mathematical simulation and experimental validation of process kinetics involved in sputtering of a LiCoO2 compound target have been performed to analyze the effect of process kinetics on film stoichiometry. Studies on the conditioning of a new LiCoO2 sputtering target for various durations of pre-sputtering time were performed with the help of real time monitoring of glow discharge plasma by OES and also by analysing surface composition, and morphology of the deposited films. Films deposited from a conditioned target, under suitable deposition conditions were electrochemically tested for CV and charge/discharge, which showed an initial discharge capacity of 64 µAh/cm2/µm. Studies done on the deposition and characterization of solid electrolyte layer-LiPON have shown that, sputtering from powder target can be useful for certain compounds like Li3PO4 in which breaking of ceramic target and loss of material are severe problems. An ionic conductivity of 1.1 x10-6 S/cm was obtained for an Nt/Nd ratio of 1.42 for a RF power density of 3 W/cm2 and N2 flow of 30 sccm. Also the reasons for reduction in ionic conductivity of LiPON thin films on exposure to air have been analyzed by means of change in surface morphology and surface chemistry. Ionic conductivity of 2.8 x10-6 S/cm for the freshly deposited film has dropped down to 9.9 x10-10 S/cm due to the reaction with moisture, oxygen and carbon content of exposed air. Interest towards a Li-free thin film battery has prompted to choose Sn as the anode layer due to its relatively good electrochemical capacity compared with other metallic thin films and ease of processing. By controlling the rate of deposition of Sn, thin films of different surface morphology, roughness and crystallinity can be obtained with different electrochemical performance. The reasons for excessive volume changes during lithiation/delithiation of a porous Sn thin film have been analyzed with the aid of physicochemical characterization techniques. The results suggest that the films become progressively pulverized resulting in increased roughness with an increase in lithiation. Electrochemical impedance data suggest that the kinetics of charging becomes sluggish with an increase in the quantity of Li in Sn-Li alloy. Thin film batteries with configuraion LiCoO2/LiPON/Sn were fabricated by sequential sputter deposition on to Pt/Si substartes. Pt/Cu strips were used as the current collector leads with a polymer packaging. Electrochemical charge/discharge studies revealed discharge capacities in the range 6-15 µAh/cm2/µm with hundreds of repeated cycles. TFB with a higher capacity of 35 µAh/cm2/µm suffered capacity fade out after 7 cycles, for which reasons were analyzed. The surface and cross-sectional micrographs of cycled TFB showed formation of bubble like features on anode layer reducing integrity of electrolyte-anode interface. The irreversible Li insertion along with apparent surface morphology changes are most likely the main reasons for the capacity fade of the LiCoO2/LiPON/Sn TFB.

This master‘s thesis concerns gel polymer electrolytes formed on a methyl methacrylate base with selected types of nanoparticles. In the thesis are also analyzed the methods for measuring electrochemical properties. The practical portion deals with sample preparations of gel polymer electrolytes with different contents of alkaline salt in a solvent, creating gels with different nanoparticle content and comparing gel polymer electrolytes polymerized with heat and UV radiation. The thesis deals with the evaluation of these samples from the viewpoint of electrical conductivity and potential windows as well as thermal analysis of selected samples.

This graduate thesis is focused on measuring the electrical conductivity of the gel polymeric electrolytes, their preparation and deals with the changes of the performance ratio of the individual substances in gel electrolyte The theoretical part deals with electrochemistry, gel electrolytes, the conductivity of electrolytes, gel electrolytes preparation, methods used to evaluate the measured results and on the properties of the ionic liquids. In the practical part is summarized the process of preparing gel electrolytes, the chemicals to prepare the gels with ionic liquids. The results are evaluated by using impedance technique and linear voltammetry, there are calculated the values of the electrical conductivity of the electrolyte and potential windows.

Construed bachelor work features into problems hydrogen fuel articles and survey on low-temperature fuell elements with polymeric electrolyte (PEMFC). Basic sight work is study feature catalyzers on base MnOx on real fuel cell type PEMFC. Exit are then measured characteristic this way creation fuel cell.

The present work deals with the properties of suitable electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries. The first part described in the current issue of electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries, types of solvents and their properties and methods of measurement properties. The second part is devoted to the measurement of the properties of solvents and electrolytes such as relative permittivity, density and viscosity. Measurement of relative permittivity was focused on the measurement of the solvent mixture with varying the percentage of the solvent. Viscosity and density were measured on a solvent with a lithium salt added (final electrolyte).

This thesis deals with liquid aprotic electrolytes based on sulfolane with added flame retardant. The theoretical part of the thesis explains concepts - mainly aprotic electrolytes, flame retardants, and their practical use. It also discusses lithium - ion accumulators and materials used in them while focusing on the electrolyte function. The practical part of the thesis aims to measure the properties of aprotic electrolytes: their conductivity, potential window and flashpoint. It also contains a review of the measurement results.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Energy storage technologies are rapidly being developed due to the increased awareness of global warming and growing reliance of society on renewable energy sources. Among various electrochemical energy storage technologies, high power supercapacitors and lithium ion batteries with excellent energy density stand out in terms of their flexibility and scalability. However, supercapacitors are handicapped by low energy density and batteries lag behind in power. Supercapatteries have emerged as hybrid devices which synergize the merits of supercapacitors and batteries with the likelihood of becoming the ultimate power sources for multi-function electronic equipment and electric/hybrid vehicles in the future. But the need for new and advanced electrodes is key to enhancing the performance of supercapatteries. Leading-edge technologies in material design such as nanoarchitectonics become very relevant in this regard. This work involves the preparation of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5), pristine and zinc doped lithium manganese silicate (Li2MnSiO4) nanoarchitectures as well as their composites with hydroxylated graphene (G-ol) and carbon nanotubes (CNT). / 2023-12-01