PhD Dissertation: Negar Amirhaghian, POLY(2–OXAZOLINE)-EPOXYELECTROLYTES: THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS, Date & Time: 17 July, 2026 – 11:00 AM, Place: FENS 2019
POLY(2–OXAZOLINE)-EPOXY ELECTROLYTES: THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS
Negar Amirhaghian
Materials Science and Nano Engineering, PhD Dissertation, 2026
Thesis Jury
Asst. Prof. Bekir Dızman (Thesis Advisor)
Prof. Fevzi Çakmak Cebeci
Assoc. Prof. Alp Yürüm
Prof. Roberto Gómez Torregrosa
Asst. Prof. Senem Seven
Date & Time: 17th July, 2026 – 11:00 AM
Place: FENS 2019
Keywords : Energy storage, Molecular dynamics simulation,
Poly(2-alkyl/aryl-2-oxazoline)
Abstract
The increasing demand for portable electronics and electric vehicles has created a need for safer and more efficient energy storage systems. Conventional liquid electrolytes suffer from leakage, flammability, and limited mechanical stability, motivating the development of solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) with both high ionic conductivity and robust mechanical properties. This thesis presents the design and development of poly(2-oxazoline)-based SPEs through two molecular dynamics simulation studies and two experimental investigations. The first simulation study examined lithium-ion transport in poly(2-oxazoline)s with different pendant groups and compared their performance with polyethylene oxide (PEO). Analysis of structural and transport properties revealed that poly(2-phenyl-2-oxazoline) provides the most favorable environment for LiTFSI transport. The second simulation study investigated crosslinked PEOZ–PEI/DGEBA networks with varying compositions. Systems containing higher DGEBA content exhibited enhanced lithium-ion diffusivity and superior mechanical properties due to the presence of ether oxygen atoms that facilitate ion hopping. Experimentally, crosslinked epoxy-based electrolytes containing PEOZ–PEI, LiTFSI, and EMIM–TFSI were developed. An optimized formulation achieved an ionic conductivity of 1.15×10−4 S cm−1 and a storage modulus of 419 MPa. In the final study, polymerized ionic liquid (PIL)-based electrolytes were incorporated into epoxy networks. The optimized system containing 60 wt.% PIL–IL and 5 wt.% LiTFSI achieved an ionic conductivity of 9.6×10−5 S cm−1 and a storage modulus of 522 MPa while effectively suppressing ionic liquid leaching. Overall, this work demonstrates that poly(2-oxazoline)-based polymer electrolytes are promising candidates for next-generation solid-state and structural batteries.