We present work on the development of inherently safer multifunctional electrolytes which are designed to undergo a massive rheological response upon application of a shear force. These electrolytes are built from colloidal particles stabilized in an aprotic electrolyte. Upon impact the particles align forming an apparent solid. This solid barrier prevents electrodes from touching during an impact resulting in a spontaneous discharge and thermal runaway. This presentation will talk about the chemistry of these materials, the cycling of full cells, and ionic conductivity of the materials.

The work presented herein was funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), U.S. Department of Energy, under Award Number DE-AR-0869-1617. The authors particularly thank Ping Liu, Susan Babinec, and Julian Sculley for their helpful discussions.