Publications

Showing 198 results for Author: Alexei P. Sokolov

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Aug, 2026

Journal

Mechanistic insight into the effects of A-site doping in perovskite nanorods on interfacial Li-ion and Na-ion transport in polymer–perovskite composite electrolytes

Composite polymer electrolytes (CPEs) offer a promising pathway to safer and higher energy density electrochemical energy storage yet optimizing interfacial ion transport remains a critical challenge due to high resistances and a lack of understanding of the complex interfacial electrostatic interactions. This work investigates the mechanistic origins of the interfacial io…
Aug, 2026

Journal

Structural effects of composition tuning in A-site disordered perovskite La0.5Li0.5−xMxTiO3 (M = Na, K) nanorods for fast interfacial transport for solid composite electrolyte design

Polymer-ceramic composite electrolytes (CPE) have emerged as promising replacements for currently used liquid organic electrolytes, which pose as safety hazards, in Li-ion batteries. Limits in conductivity enhancement in CPEs is often attributed to a high resistance for Li-ion transport along the interface due to the incompatibility of the polymer and ceramic phases. A cle…
Jul, 2026

Journal

Dynamic Interfacial Design in Adaptive Hybrid Materials Enables Reversible and Tunable Mechano-Optic Smart Responses

Next-generation polymeric materials are shifting toward adaptive and interactive behaviors of living systems; however, designing materials that can reversibly modulate optical properties under mechanical deformation while maintaining mechanical robustness remains a key challenge. Here, we report a mechanically robust vitrimer-based adaptive hybrid material (AHM) that exhib…
Feb, 2026

Journal

Percolating Interfacial Layers Enhance Conductivity in Polymer–Composite Electrolytes

This study investigates the impact of the ceramic particle size on the bulk and interfacial ion transport properties of composite polymer electrolytes. The ceramic particles used for this study are micrometer-sized commercial lithium lanthanum titanate (LLTO) powders and LLTO nanorods (NR) prepared in the laboratory. The polymer matrices are vinylene carbonate (VEC) based…
Feb, 2026

Journal

In-situ polymerized and crosslinked electrolytes with interchangeable Li/Na transport for battery applications

The next generation of batteries requires electrolytes with high conductivity, mechanical stability, good adhesion with electrodes, wide electrochemical windows, and scalability. The present study introduces a concept of doped quasi single-ion conducting copolymers based on methacrylate-(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (TFSI) and vinyl ethylene carbonate which at room tempe…
Feb, 2026

Journal

Temperature Evolution of the Activation Barriers Leads to Meyer−Neldel Rules for Structural Relaxation and Transport in Polymers

Understanding activation barriers controlling structural relaxation in glass-forming liquids, molecular transport, and ionic conductivity in amorphous polymers is a grand challenge of fundamental scientific and materials engineering interest across disciplines. Over decades, intriguing but puzzling empirical correlations between the elementary time scale of activated barri…
Sep, 2025

Journal

Revisiting the Role of Mobile Ion Size for the Activation Barrier of Charge Transport in Single Ion Conducting Polymers

The development of polymer electrolytes for energy storage and conversion technologies requires a fundamental understanding of the material parameters controlling the energy barriers for ion transport. In glassy polymers, these activation barriers are usually extracted by using Arrhenius procedures. However, our recent studies of single ion conducting polymers reveal that…
Aug, 2025

Journal

Unraveling the pathway towards superionic transport in polymer electrolytes

Ionic transport in polymers is critical for Li-ion batteries, fuel cells, flow batteries and many other energy storage and conversion technologies. A significant enhancement of ion conductivity in polymers may be achieved through an increase in the polarity of side chains and their self-organization into specific morphologies, which can potentially act as percolated ionic…
Aug, 2025

Journal

Critical Role of the Steric Factor in the Viscoelasticity of Vitrimers

Dynamic covalent networks (DCNs) are a promising solution to mitigate plastic-waste-related issues through improved recyclability enabled by dynamic bonds. However, our understanding of the mechanisms controlling their viscoelasticity, especially in vitrimers where bond exchange relies on associative reactions, remains limited. Here, we investigate the dynamics in model DC…
Aug, 2025

Journal

Critical role of polymer-ceramic ion exchange for high conductivity composite electrolytes

Polymer-ceramic composites offer a path to enhance the transport and mechanical properties of solid electrolytes. However, an in-depth understanding of the extent and role of ion transport along and across polymer-ceramic interfaces in these systems is lacking. We have recently shown that Li-conducting Li0.11Na0.24K0.02La0.43TiO2.82 (LMTO) nanorods can be prepared by a mol…
Aug, 2025

Journal

Nanoscale Miscibility in In Situ Polymerized Hybrid Electrolytes Speeds Up Ion Dynamics and Enables Stable Cycling of Li Metal Batteries

While the potential use of copolymerized electrolytes in Li metal batteries is subject to intense investigation, the fundamental understanding of the nanoscale domain formation and its effect on Li+ transport is still lacking. In this study, we investigated the correlation between the Li+ transport mechanism and the miscibility of monomers in polymer blend electrolytes der…
Aug, 2025

Journal

A single-ion-conducting polymer and high-entropy Li-garnet composite electrolyte with simultaneous enhancement in ion transport and mechanical properties

Enabling the lithium metal anode has been the holy grail for improving the energy density for the next generation advanced batteries. Developing electrolytes that will suppress Li dendrite growth and provide sufficient ionic conductivity remains a major challenge in this field. In this study, we develop a polymer–ceramic composite electrolyte for lithium metal batteries. T…

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Publications

Mechanistic insight into the effects of A-site doping in perovskite nanorods on interfacial Li-ion and Na-ion transport in polymer–perovskite composite electrolytes

Structural effects of composition tuning in A-site disordered perovskite La0.5Li0.5−xMxTiO3 (M = Na, K) nanorods for fast interfacial transport for solid composite electrolyte design

Dynamic Interfacial Design in Adaptive Hybrid Materials Enables Reversible and Tunable Mechano-Optic Smart Responses

Percolating Interfacial Layers Enhance Conductivity in Polymer–Composite Electrolytes

In-situ polymerized and crosslinked electrolytes with interchangeable Li/Na transport for battery applications

Temperature Evolution of the Activation Barriers Leads to Meyer−Neldel Rules for Structural Relaxation and Transport in Polymers

Revisiting the Role of Mobile Ion Size for the Activation Barrier of Charge Transport in Single Ion Conducting Polymers

Unraveling the pathway towards superionic transport in polymer electrolytes

Critical Role of the Steric Factor in the Viscoelasticity of Vitrimers

Critical role of polymer-ceramic ion exchange for high conductivity composite electrolytes

Nanoscale Miscibility in In Situ Polymerized Hybrid Electrolytes Speeds Up Ion Dynamics and Enables Stable Cycling of Li Metal Batteries

A single-ion-conducting polymer and high-entropy Li-garnet composite electrolyte with simultaneous enhancement in ion transport and mechanical properties