Zn rechargeable cell with a gel polymer electrolyte based on an ionic liquid

Lithium rechargeable cells based on liquid electrolytes have been used for numerous applications due to their high performance. At present, it has been identified the possible hazardous effects of those cells. As an alternative, much research is focused on non-lithium rechargeable cells based on Gel Polymer Electrolytes (GPEs). Basically, a GPE is consisted of a salt and solvent mixture entrapped inside a polymer network. However, these solvents are toxic and flammable. This imposes a limitation for the safety of GPEs. This paper, reported about a Zn rechargeable cell having a GPE based on an ionic liquid which eliminates the need of solvents. The polymer used was Poly-Vinylidene Fluoride co Hexa FluoroPropylene (PVdF-co-HFP). As the salt, Zinc Tri-Fluoromethanesulfonate (Zn(CF₃SO₃)₂ – ZnTF) was used and 1 Butyl 3 Methyl Immidazolium Tri-Fluoromethanesulfonate (1B3MITF) was used as the Ionic Liquid (IL). It was observed that there is an optimum salt concentration that results the highest conductivity in IL. A Zn rechargeable cell was fabricated using the optimized composition of the GPE. It was observed that the cell is suitable for low power requirements.