A lignin-based gel prepared by the chemical crosslinking of hardwood acetic acid lignin (AL) with poly(ethylene glycol) diglycidyl ether has been reported to shrink in water and organic solvents but swell specifically in aqueous binary solutions. In this study, the AL-based gel was also found to swell in lithium-salt-containing organic solvents, namely, liquid electrolytes. The uptake of salt solutions reached five times the dry weight of the gel. The ionic conductivity of the gel swollen with 1 M LiBF4 in propylene carbonate or a mixed solution (1:1, v/v) of ethylene carbonate and dimethyl carbonate exceeded 1 mS cm−1 at room temperature (25 °C), suggesting that this gel can be applied as a gel electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). A prototype LIB was assembled with the AL-based gel electrolyte and LiCoO2/graphite-based electrodes and exhibited low bulk and charge transfer resistances of 4.1 and 9.7 Ω, respectively. Moreover, its initial specific capacity reached 104 mAh g−1 at a current density of 28 mA g−1, which is comparable to that of a reference LIB assembled using a commercial polyethylene separator. These results indicate the significant potential of this lignin-based gel for application in energy storage devices.

中文翻译：

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木质素基凝胶在含盐有机溶剂中的溶胀及其作为凝胶电解质的应用

据报道，通过硬木醋酸木质素（AL）与聚（乙二醇）二缩水甘油醚化学交联制备的木质素基凝胶在水和有机溶剂中收缩，但在二元水溶液中特别膨胀。在这项研究中，还发现铝基凝胶在含锂盐的有机溶剂（即液体电解质）中会膨胀。盐溶液的吸收量达到凝胶干重的五倍。用 1 M LiBF 溶胀的凝胶的离子电导率4在碳酸丙烯酯或碳酸乙烯酯和碳酸二甲酯的混合溶液（1:1，v/v）中超过1 mS cm−1在室温（25°C）下，表明该凝胶可用作锂离子电池（LIB）的凝胶电解质。使用 AL 基凝胶电解质和 LiCoO 组装原型 LIB2/石墨基电极，并表现出较低的体积电阻和电荷转移电阻，分别为 4.1 Ω 和 9.7 Ω。而且其初始比容量达到104 mAh g−1电流密度为 28 mA g−1，这与使用商用聚乙烯隔膜组装的参考 LIB 相当。这些结果表明这种木质素基凝胶在储能装置中的应用具有巨大潜力。