Solid electrolyte and method for manufacturing the same

Flexible Solid Electrolyte Using Stepwise Functionalization of Bagasse Fibers with Enzymes, Chitosan, and Ammonium

This technology is a fiber-reinforced solid electrolyte that improves ionic conductivity, water absorption, and mechanical flexibility by stepwise functionalizing sugarcane bagasse-derived base fibers with enzymes, functional groups such as methyl or carboxymethyl, chitosan, and ammonium compounds.

Conventional polymer electrolytes suffer from low ionic conductivity. Gel electrolytes, which are used to address this, face limitations in implementing flexible batteries due to a trade-off: increasing electrolyte content degrades mechanical properties, while increasing polymer content reduces ionic conductivity.

This technology utilizes a biomass-based sugarcane bagasse fiber structure, enzymatically hydrolyzed and chemically bonded with chitosan and ammonium-based functional groups to create absorbent sites. This structure retains a large amount of hydroxide ions, simultaneously enhancing ionic conductivity and flexibility. It can be applied to flexible zinc-air batteries, wearable power sources, and alkaline anion exchange membranes, offering the eco-friendly advantage of converting agricultural byproducts into high-value electrolyte materials.

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Key Features:

• A step of preparing primary pre-functionalized fibers with attached enzymes by hydrolyzing base fibers using enzymes
• A step of preparing tertiary pre-functionalized fibers by bonding chitosan to fibers reacted with precursors containing functional groups
• A step of preparing quaternary pre-functionalized fibers bonded with ammonium compounds by reacting them with functional salts containing ammonium compounds
• A solid electrolyte comprising functional fibers bonded with absorbent groups where the chlorine ions of the ammonium compounds are substituted with hydroxide ions

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This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT for the development of a high-energy-density soft materials platform through the design of new organic superionic plastic crystal materials.

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