Electrolyte, and negative electrode and lithium battery including the same

1. An electrolyte for a lithium battery, the electrolyte comprising:

a block copolymer; and

a nanoparticle composite dispersed in the block copolymer,

wherein the block copolymer comprises

a structural domain comprising a polymer comprising a structural repeating unit; and

a rubbery domain comprising a polymer comprising a rubber repeating unit, or a hard domain comprising a polymer comprising an olefin-based repeating unit,

wherein the nanoparticle composite is dispersed only in the rubbery domain or the hard domain of the block copolymer, and comprises nanoparticles having a surface and an ion conductive functional oligomer or polymer attached to the surface,

wherein the polymer comprising a rubber repeating unit is at least one selected from polyisoprene, polybutadiene, polychloroprene, polyisobutylene, and polyurethane, and the polymer comprising an olefin-based repeating unit is at least one selected from polypropylene and polybutylene.

2. The electrolyte of claim 1 , wherein the block copolymer has a number average molecular weight in a range of about 10,000 Daltons to about 500,000 Daltons.

3. The electrolyte of claim 1 , wherein the block copolymer is at least one selected from a diblock copolymer comprising a polystyrene first block and a polyisoprene second block; a triblock copolymer comprising a polystyrene first block, a polyisoprene second block, and a polystyrene third block; a diblock copolymer comprising a polystyrene first block and a polybutadiene second block; and a triblock copolymer comprising a polystyrene first block, a polybutadiene second block, and a polystyrene third block.

4. The electrolyte of claim 1 , wherein the ion conductive functional oligomer or polymer comprises at least one selected from poly(ethylene oxide), poly(propylene oxide), poly(butylene oxide), poly(siloxane), poly(ethylene glycol), poly(propylene glycol), poly(oxyethylene)methacrylate, poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate, poly(propylene glycol)diacrylate, poly(ethylene glycol)dimethacrylate, poly(propylene glycol)dimethacrylate, poly(ethylene glycol)urethane diacrylate, poly(ethylene glycol)urethane dimethacrylate, polyester diacrylate, polyester dimethacrylate, poly(ethylene glycol) urethane triacrylate, poly(ethylene glycol) urethane trimethacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, poly(ethylene oxide) grafted poly(methylmethacrylate), poly(propylene oxide) grafted poly(methylmethacrylate), poly(butylene oxide) grafted poly(methylmethacrylate), polysiloxane grafted poly(methylmethacrylate), poly(ethylene glycol) grafted poly(methylmethacrylate), poly(propylene glycol) grafted poly(methylmethacrylate), trimethylolpropane triacrylate substituted with an ethoxy group, and trimethylolpropane triacrylate substituted with a propoxy group.

5. The electrolyte of claim 1 , wherein a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of the ion conductive oligomer or polymer is in a range of about 50 to about 20,000 Daltons.

6. The electrolyte of claim 1 , wherein an amount of the ion conductive oligomer or polymer is in a range of about 5 parts by weight to about 20 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the nanoparticle composite.

7. The electrolyte of claim 1 , wherein the nanoparticle composite comprises nanoparticles comprising at least one selected from SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , TiO 2 , ZnO, BaTiO 3 , and a lithium ion conductor.

8. The electrolyte of claim 1 , wherein the nanoparticle composite comprises nanoparticles having an average particle diameter of about 1 nm to about 1 μm.

9. The electrolyte of claim 1 , wherein an amount of the nanoparticle composite is in a range of about 5 parts by weight to about 500 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the block copolymer.

10. The electrolyte of claim 1 , wherein the nanoparticle composite comprises at least one selected from poly(ethylene glycol) attached to a SiO 2 nanoparticle surface (SiO 2 -PEG), poly(ethylene glycol) attached to a Al 2 O 3 nanoparticle surface (Al 2 O 3 -PEG), poly(ethylene glycol) attached to a TiO 2 nanoparticle surface (TiO 2 -PEG), and poly(ethylene glycol) attached to a lithium aluminum germanium titanium phosphate nanoparticle surface (LAGTP-PEG).

11. The electrolyte of claim 1 further comprising at least one of a lithium salt and an ionic liquid, wherein the lithium salt is at least one selected from LiSCN, LiN(CN) 2 , LiClO 4 , LiBF 4 , LiAsF 6 , LiPF 6 , LiCF 3 SO 3 , Li(CF 3 SO 2 ) 2 N, Li(CF 3 SO 2 ) 3 C, LiN(SO 2 F) 2 , LiN(SO 2 C 2 F 5 ) 2 , LiN(SO 2 CF 3 ) 2 , LiN(SO 2 CF 2 CF 3 ) 2 , LiSbF 6 , LiPF 3 (CF 2 CF 3 ) 3 , LiPF 3 (C 2 F 5 ) 3 , LiPF 3 (CF 3 ) 3 , and LiB(C 2 O 4 ) 2 .

12. The electrolyte of claim 1 , wherein ion conductivity of the electrolyte composition is greater than or equal to about 1×10 −4 S/cm as measured at a temperature of 25° C.

13. A negative electrode for a lithium battery, the negative electrode comprising:

a substrate comprising lithium metal or a lithium-containing alloy; and

a protection layer comprising an electrolyte disposed on at least a portion of the substrate,

wherein the electrolyte comprises a nanoparticle composite dispersed in a block copolymer, the block copolymer comprising:

a structural domain comprising a polymer comprising a structural repeating unit; and

a rubbery domain comprising a polymer comprising a rubber repeating unit or a hard domain comprising a polymer comprising an olefin-based repeating unit,

wherein the nanoparticle composite is dispersed only in the rubbery domain or the hard domain of the block copolymer, and comprises nanoparticles having a surface and an ion conductive functional oligomer or polymer attached to the surface,

wherein the polymer comprising a rubber repeating unit is polyisoprene, polybutadiene, polychloroprene, polyisobutylene, polyurethane, or a combination thereof, and the polymer comprising an olefin-based repeating unit is polypropylene, polybutylene, or a combination thereof.

14. The negative electrode of claim 13 , wherein a thickness of the protection layer is in a range of about 0.5 μm to about 5 μm.

15. A lithium battery comprising:

a positive electrode;

a negative electrode of claim 13 ; and

an electrolyte disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode,

wherein the electrolyte comprises a nanoparticle composite dispersed in a block copolymer, the block copolymer comprising:

a structural domain comprising a polymer comprising a structural repeating unit; and

a rubbery domain comprising a polymer comprising a rubber repeating unit or a hard domain comprising a polymer comprising an olefin-based repeating unit,

wherein the nanoparticle composite is dispersed only in the rubbery domain or the hard domain of the block copolymer, and comprises nanoparticles having a surface and an ion conductive functional oligomer or polymer attached to the surface.