AI Article Synopsis
- Solvation dynamics play a crucial role in how charges move, with rapid processes occurring in water (on a picosecond scale) but varying more in organic electrolytes, which can range from 1 to several hundred picoseconds.
- By examining mixtures of an organic polymer and lithium salt, researchers found that lithium ions temporarily bond with multiple polymer chains, leading to "crosslinks" that affect these dynamics.
- Through quasielastic neutron scattering and simulations, the average timescale for solvation dynamics was determined to be around one nanosecond, highlighting the presence of very slow dynamics in the breakdown of solvation shells in the electrolyte.
Article Abstract
Solvation dynamics critically affect charge transport. Spectroscopic experiments and computer simulations show that these dynamics in aqueous systems occur on a picosecond timescale. In the case of organic electrolytes, however, conflicting values ranging from 1 to several 100 picoseconds have been reported. We resolve this conflict by studying mixtures of an organic polymer and a lithium salt. Lithium ions coordinate with multiple polymer chains, resulting in temporary crosslinks. Relaxation of these crosslinks, detected by quasielastic neutron scattering, are directly related to solvation dynamics. Simulations reveal a broad spectrum of relaxation times. The average timescale for solvation dynamics in both experiment and simulation is one nanosecond. We present the direct measurement of ultraslow dynamics of solvation shell break-up in an electrolyte.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41563-024-01834-y | DOI Listing |
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