09 Sep MTFSILi Reaches a New Production Scale: Inside SPECIFIC POLYMERS’ Reference Single-Ion Monomer for Lithium Batteries
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DATE
September 2026
Since 2017, SPECIFIC POLYMERS has supplied MTFSILi (SP-49-023) to research groups and companies working on the next generation of lithium batteries. Nearly a decade on, this methacrylic monomer bearing a lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide-type moiety has become one of the most referenced products in our catalog, cited in more than fifty scientific publications and at the core of a growing body of work on single-ion conducting polymer electrolytes.
This month, we want to share two pieces of news together: a real production milestone for MTFSILi, and a look at why this molecule continues to draw interest from battery researchers worldwide.
A Production Milestone: From 100 g to Multi-Kilogram Batches
Historically, MTFSILi has been produced and sold in research quantities: 10 g, 25 g, 50 g and, more recently, 100 g batches, sufficient to cover most laboratory-scale electrolyte formulation work. Over the past months, our production team has consolidated and scaled the synthesis route for this monomer, and we are now able to offer standard batches of 250 g and 500 g, with requests for several kilograms that would be handled on a case-by-case basis.
MTFSILi
This step is worth more than the simple availability of larger batches. Reaching this level of production consistency required us to rework the synthesis, purification and quality-control sequences, work that also benefits the smaller batches we continue to sell every week. It is, in other words, a maturity milestone as much as a capacity one. In practice, it means that groups moving from proof-of-concept coin-cell formulations toward pouch-cell or larger-format demonstrators, where gram-level quantities of active monomer are no longer sufficient, can now source MTFSILi directly from us.
As is generally the case in specialty chemical production, unit price decreases as order quantity increases. Thanks to the increase in our production capacity and the optimization of our manufacturing process, we are now able to offer prices approximately 25% to 30% lower than those applied last year, depending on the batch size. Having now demonstrated that MTFSILi can be produced reliably at the hundred-gram to kilogram scale, we are continuing to work on our pricing structure so that the product remains competitive as demand for larger volumes grows. We are happy to discuss quotations for any batch size, from a few grams for early screening work to multi-kilogram quantities for scaled-up electrode and cell development.
Why Single-Ion Conduction Still Matters
In a conventional battery electrolyte, both the lithium ion and its negatively charged counterion move around as the battery charges and discharges. Only the lithium ion actually does useful work; the other one just gets in the way, and over many cycles this imbalance drains the battery’s power, shortens its life, and can encourage dendritic growth, needle-like deposits of lithium metal that eventually cause a short circuit.
MTFSILi addresses this at the molecular level. Its negative charge is permanently attached to the monomer itself, so once it is built into a polymer, that negative charge can no longer wander off: only the lithium ion remains free to move. This single-ion design gives cleaner, more efficient lithium transport, better stability at higher voltages, and a more even, dendrite-resistant deposit of lithium metal during charging. MTFSILi and its homopolymer, Poly(MTFSILi) (SP-4P-6- 004), give researchers a convenient way to build this chemistry into their own materials, whether by direct polymerization, by grafting it onto an existing polymer or ceramic surface, or by custom copolymer synthesis, combining MTFSILi with a comonomer that itself brings a conductive function, such as a PEO-based or cyclocarbonate-based comonomer, to fine-tune the resulting electrolyte’s conductivity and mechanical properties.
Why Single-Ion Conduction Still Matters
In a conventional battery electrolyte, both the lithium ion and its negatively charged counterion move around as the battery charges and discharges. Only the lithium ion actually does useful work; the other one just gets in the way, and over many cycles this imbalance drains the battery’s power, shortens its life, and can encourage dendritic growth, needle-like deposits of lithium metal that eventually cause a short circuit.
MTFSILi addresses this at the molecular level. Its negative charge is permanently attached to the monomer itself, so once it is built into a polymer, that negative charge can no longer wander off: only the lithium ion remains free to move. This single-ion design gives cleaner, more efficient lithium transport, better stability at higher voltages, and a more even, dendrite-resistant deposit of lithium metal during charging. MTFSILi and its homopolymer, Poly(MTFSILi) (SP-4P-6- 004), give researchers a convenient way to build this chemistry into their own materials, whether by direct polymerization, by grafting it onto an existing polymer or ceramic surface, or by custom copolymer synthesis, combining MTFSILi with a comonomer that itself brings a conductive function, such as a PEO-based or cyclocarbonate-based comonomer, to fine-tune the resulting electrolyte’s conductivity and mechanical properties.
A Monomer Still Driving Active Battery Research
These are not just laboratory concepts; recent published research shows what this chemistry can achieve. Combined with a flexible polymer, it has produced one of the most conductive single-ion materials reported to date while remaining stable at higher voltages, a step toward batteries that charge faster and pack more energy[13]. Blended with a ceramic filler, it multiplied the material’s conductivity sevenfold while also making it mechanically tougher, tackling two weak points of solid electrolytes at once[9]. Used as a thin coating on electrode particles, it nearly doubled how much capacity a battery retained after 200 charge and discharge cycles, a meaningful gain in real-world battery lifetime[2].
Researchers are now even using MTFSILi and its sodium counterpart (MTFSINa, SP-49-028) by name as reference materials when designing new battery components[3], and a 2025 scientific review singled out MTFSILi-based polymers as a promising building block for more sustainable batteries[5].
It is worth noting that the chemistry behind MTFSILi traces back to pioneering work by battery scientist Michel Armand in 1986[18], a good reminder that a well-chosen molecule can keep proving its worth for decades.
The full list of publications behind this overview, each with a short summary and a link, is provided at the end of this article.
Looking Ahead
The scientific momentum behind single-ion conducting polymers shows no sign of slowing, and the diversity of approaches summarized above, from flexible polymer blends to ceramic composites and electrode coatings, speaks to a field that is actively converging on practical solutions for solid-state and lithium-metal batteries.
On our side, having now secured a reliable 250 g to 500 g production process for MTFSILi, with multi-kilogram quantities available on request, we intend to keep building on this milestone: refining our synthesis further, extending the same production logic to other monomers and polymers across our range, and continuing to work on pricing so that scaling up a formulation does not mean scaling up cost disproportionately.This progress is already translating into more competitive conditions for our customers, with price reductions of 25% to 30% compared with last year, depending on the volumes ordered.
If your research is moving from screening to larger-format cells and you need MTFSILi, poly(MTFSILi), or any of our other single-ion monomers and polymers at a scale that used to be out of reach, we would be glad to discuss your requirements and see how we could support your project. Feel free to reach out to us; we look forward to supporting the next stage of your battery development.
References
[1] A. Naboulsi et al., Harnessing Cold Sintering to Fabricate Composite Polymer Electrolytes, J. Electrochem. Soc. 2024, 171, 070537 >
[2] L. M. Guerrero-Mejía et al., Single-Step Construction of Architected Hybrid Interphases, J. Power Sources 2026, 678, 240041 >
[3] L. Shepard et al., Mechanistic Insight into the Effects of A-Site Doping in Perovskite Nanorods on Interfacial Li-Ion and Na-Ion Transport, ChemRxiv, February 2026 >
[4] J. Lee et al., Analysis of Small-Angle Neutron Scattering from Blends of Charged and Neutral Polymers, ACS Macro Lett. 2025, 15, 112–119 >
[5] F. J. Leslie et al., The Sustainable Potential of Single-Ion Conducting Polymers, ChemSusChem 2025, 18, e202500055 >
[6] H. Li et al., Emergent Nanostructure and Ion Transport in Polyzwitterion/Polyanion Blends, Macromolecules 2025, 58, 8658–8669 >
[7] J. Wan et al., Combining Ternary Ionic-Liquid-Based Polymer Electrolytes with a Single-Ion Conducting Polymer-Based Interlayer for Lithium Metal Batteries, Energy Mater. 2024, 4, 400074 >
[8] J. Wan et al., Single-Ion Conducting Interlayers for Improved Lithium Metal Plating, Energy Storage Mater. 2023, 63, 103029 >
[9] J. Ock et al., A Single-Ion Conducting Polymer and High-Entropy Li-Garnet Composite Electrolyte with Simultaneous Enhancement in Ion Transport and Mechanical Properties, J. Mater. Chem. A 2025, 13, 24511–24521 >
[10] S. W. Thompson et al., Encapsulation of LiCoO2 Particles with Lithium-Containing Polymer for Solid-State Lithium-Ion Battery Cathodes, Polymer 2025, 324, 128255 >
[11] Y. He et al., A Self-Healing Plastic Ceramic Electrolyte by an Aprotic Dynamic Polymer Network for Lithium Metal Batteries, Nat. Commun. 2024, 15, 10015 >
[12] H. Chouirfa et al., Single-Ion Nano-Features Formed by a Li-Containing Block Copolymer Synthesized via PISA, Polym. Chem. 2023, 14, 2971 >
[13] M. Yang et al., Solid-State Single-Ion Conducting Polymer Blend Electrolytes with Enhanced Li Conduction, Electrochemical Stability, and Limiting Current Density, Chem. Mater. 2024, 36, 1855–1869 >
[14] A. Naboulsi et al., Correlation between Ionic Conductivity and Mechanical Properties of Solid-Like PEO-Based Polymer Electrolyte, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2024, 16, 13869–13881 >
[15] J. L. Olmedo-Martínez et al., All-Polymer Nanocomposite as Salt-Free Solid Electrolyte for Lithium Metal Batteries, ACS Polym. Au, January 2024 >
[16] A. Engler et al., Dicarbonate Acrylate Based Single-Ion Conducting Polymer Electrolytes for Lithium Batteries, J. Power Sources 2023, 574, 233145 >
[17] L. H. Liang et al., Polysiloxane-Based Single-Ion Conducting Polymer Blend Electrolyte Comprising Small-Molecule Organic Carbonates for High-Energy and High-Power Lithium-Metal Batteries, Adv. Energy Mater. 2022, 12, 2200013 >
[18] A. Mauger et al., Tribute to Michel Armand: From Rocking Chair – Li-Ion to Solid-State Lithium Batteries, J. Electrochem. Soc. 2020, 167, 070507 >
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