**4. Conclusions**

Organo-modified smectite clay particles were prepared and dispersed into PAN and PAN:PEO blend polymers in order to prepare hybrid gel polymer electrolytes. Morphological studies proved that the procedure herein proposed allows to avoid phase separation between PAN and PEO as well as guarantee high nano-dispersion of the clay particles in the polymer matrix. The presence of the clay platelets strongly affected morphology, thermal and mechanical stability and electrochemical properties of the GPEs. In particular, outstanding behavior was displayed by the PAN:PEO/org-SWy membrane. 7Li and 19F NMR spectroscopy was successfully applied to ge<sup>t</sup> a complete description of the ions dynamics in so complex systems, probing as the smectite clay surfaces are able to "solvate" both lithium and triflate ions, preventing the ion pairing (as also confirmed by the high ionicity index) and creating preferential pathways for lithium conduction.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, I.N. and C.S.; Methodology, C.S., E.L. and L.C.; Validation, I.N.; Investigation, C.S. and E.L.; Resources, I.N.; Data Curation, C.S. and L.C.; Writing-Original Draft Preparation, C.S.; Writing-Review & Editing, I.N.; Supervision, I.N.; Project Administration, I.N.; Funding Acquisition, I.N.

**Funding:** This work was supported by the European Community's Seventh Framework Program (FP7 2007-2013) through the MATERIA Project (PONa3\_00370).

**Acknowledgments:** The authors would like to thank Mariano Davoli, University of Calabria, for his precious support in the morphological characterization of the membranes.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
