Polypropylene separator

Separators are one of the critical components in LIBs, especially in liquid

lithiumi on batteries(LLIBs), which could prevent physical contact between
the electrodes and enable lithiumionic transportation while isolate
electronic flow. Among a number of materials developed so far,
polypropylene (PP) is one of the most dominant materials used for
separators in LLIBs for its low price, chemical resistance and thermal
stability,etc. However, the major drawbacks of this kind separator lie in its
intrinsically low polarity and low surfaceenergy, which would result in poor
compatibility between separators with liquid electrolyte and electro-des in
the batteries. To this point, modification of PP separators is of great
importance for the preparation of high performance LIBs. The commonly
used modification methods for polyolefin separators include surface
grafting, andcoating, etc. As

previously reported, the properties of the

modification

largely

layer

would

influence

the

electrochemical

performances of the whole modified separator. However,the modified

layer usually forms as gel polymer electrolytes after absorbing liquid
electrolyte, and usually exhibits lower ionic conductivity compared to
liquid electrolytes, which would cause drawbacks for lithium ionic
transportation and may go against high charge/discharge capacity in the
batteries. Polyethyleneglycol(PEG), one kind of polyether, has been
widely used in gelandsolidpolymer electrolyte due to the excellent affinity
with liquid electrolyte and the ability to solvate lithium ions. The modified
separator sretained high ion conductivity (10_3 S cm_1). Meanwhile, the
PEG gel layer yielded the batteries improved cycle performances. In earlie
rresearches, some work has been done to investigate the effect of
interaction between coating layer and separators.Kim et al compared the
ion conductivity of their radiated separator coated with poly (vinylidene
fluoride

-co-hexafluoropropylene)

(PVDF-HFP)

and

thenon-irradiated

separator coated with the sameone. It was concluded that their radiated
separator showed higher ion iccon- ductivity due to the characteristics of
the interfaces between PVDF- HFP layer and the PE separator, basing on
the activation energy calculation. The results implied that the chemical

bonds between the modification layer and the inert separators would give
separators better electrochemical performances.

Composite membrane
An ideal separator should have a zero ionic resistance, however in
practice a low ionic resistance can be achieved by a high porosity. The
porosity of a conventional polyolefin separator usually falls between 30
and 55%. In order to prevent physical contact between the electrodes, the
separator must also be resistant to, yet not limited to: metal fines
accumulated during manufacturing, the chemical environment before,
during, and after cycling, lithium dendrite growth occur- ring during
cycling, compression accumulated after assembly and during cycling, and
thermal shrinkage that may cause a short circuit.
Originally intended for primary lithium battery purposes, the processes
used to create pores in commercially available poly- ethylene or
polypropylene separators require precise stretching of

an

extruded thin

film. Heat exposure to these stretched separators initiates re-coiling of the

elongated polymer chains, observed as shrinkage or the shape memory
effect, causing stress to build at the fixed points of the separator. Creating
non-woven mat separators and coating commercial separators with fine
ceramic particles have been evaluated to mitigate or avoid the thermal
shrinkage.
Non-woven mats of polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF),
and polymer blends of polyimide with porosities ranging from 65 to 85%
have been prepared with a relatively slow electrospinning process. Those
spun

separators

temperatures

and

have

shown

enabled

negligible

good

ionic

shrinkages

at

conductivities.

elevated
However,

electrospinning is a relatively high cost process and the polymers used in

these work can be plasticized by liquid electrolytes leading to reduced
mechanical properties. Wet-laid or air-laid non-woven fabrics based on
thermal plastic polymers have also been evaluated as battery separators.

Those

separators

have

exhibited

good

ionic

conductivity

and

dimensional stability at elevated temperatures. Inorganic separators made

of ceramic particles and a binder (organic or inorganic) can also offer
excellent thermal stability and electrolyte wettability. However, these
separators alone do not provide the sufficient flexibility, especially when
they are thin. A wet-laid process was bench-scaled to prepare a loose,
non- woven, inorganic fiber paper enhanced with a porous PVDF binder to
create the composite separator. The composite membranes prepared in
the current work do not provide the thermal shut- down characteristic as
most commercial separators.
Electrolite membrane for plastic lithium baterries
Today, large attention is devoted to the characterization of ion-conducting
membranes to be used as advanced electrolytes in new-design, solidstate, electrochemical devices. Indeed, the concept of a power source
capable of combining high performance with a plastic, flexible structure is
very

appealing

for

the

consumer

electronic

market.

Accordingly,

substantial work has been directed to the identification of the most

suitable components for the fabrication of these devices, with particular
concern on the most crucial of them, namely the electrolyte component
which ideally should be a membrane of such a nature of assuring efficient
electronic separation between the electrodes, high ionic conductivity and
good compatibility with the electrode materials. So far, the most
successful procedure to achieve this goal appears to be the gelification of
liquid electrolyte solutions in a polymer matrix.