Cellulose-Based Plastic Crystal Electrolyte Membranes with Enhanced Interface for Solid-State Lithium Batteries

Fabricating robust succinonitrile-based plastic crystal electrolyte (PCE) membranes with abundant and sustainable polymer skeleton and reinforcing the stability of the PCE–lithium anode interface are essential for adopting PCE in all-solid-state lithium metal batteries (ASSLMBs). Herein, renewable and low-cost cellulose is utilized as the mechanical support framework to prepare the self-standing cellulose-based PCE (C-PCE) through the facile tape-casting method. The cellulose matrix provides excellent robustness to the hybrid C-PCE system. The fabricated C-PCE shows an ionic conductivity of about 2.1 × 10 −4 S cm −1 and a tensile strength of over 0.5 MPa at room temperature. Solid-state lithium batteries assembled with the Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 cathode, lithium metal anode, and the prepared electrolyte films exhibit an initial capacity surpassing 155 mAh g −1 at 0.2 C and room temperature. This work presents a new attempt to use low-cost cellulose and common additives to prepare high-performance PCE membranes for lithium-battery applications.