# Control of Ionic Mobility via Charge Size Asymmetry in Random Ionomers

## TL;DR

This study reveals how charge size asymmetry influences nanostructure and ionic mobility in solid polymer electrolytes, providing insights for designing better ion-conducting polymers for energy storage.

## Contribution

It demonstrates the critical role of size asymmetry in ion transport mechanisms and nanostructure modification under electric fields in ionomers.

## Key findings

- Ionic mobility increases with decreasing size asymmetry in weak electrostatic regimes.
- Higher symmetry ($b7 d 1$) enhances mobility in strong electrostatic interactions.
- Ion transport is dominated by hopping, not vehicular movement.

## Abstract

Solid polymer electrolytes are considered a promising alternative to traditional liquid electrolytes in energy storage applications because of their good mechanical properties, and excellent thermal and chemical stability. A gap, however, still exists in understanding ion transport mechanisms and improving ion transport in solid polymer electrolytes. Therefore, it is crucial to bridge composition--structure and structure--property relationships. Here we demonstrate that size asymmetry, $\lambda$, represented by the ratio of counterion to charged monomer size, plays a key role in both the nanostructure and in the ionic dynamics. More specifically, when the nanostructure is modified by the external electric field such that the mobility cannot be described by linear response theory, two situations arise. The ionic mobility increases as $\lambda$ decreases (small counterions) in the weak electrostatics (high dielectric constant) regime. Whereas in systems with strong electrostatic interactions, ionomers with higher size symmetry ($\lambda \approx 1$) display higher ionic mobility. Moreover, ion transport is found to be dominated by the hopping of the ions and not by moving ionic clusters (also known as "vehicular'' charge transport). These results serve as a guide for designing ion-containing polymers for ion transport related applications.