MODERN ADVANCES IN SEMI CONDUCTING

POLYMERS

BY:

EROMOSE GRACE

MATRIC. NO: ENG/2162040059

A SEMINAR PAPER PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF

POLYMER ENGINEERING SCHOOL OF ENGEERING TECHNOLOGY,
AUCHI POLYTECHNIC, AUCHI.

IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE

AWARD OF THE HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA (HND) IN POLYMER
TECHNOLOGY

SUPERVISED BY:

MR. EDEGBE O. C.

JUNE, 2022
 ABSTRACT

Polymer lithium battery or Li-ion batteries with high power and high energy are used for new
applications such as electric vehicles, for which safety concern is essential. We review the state
of the art in the research to optimize the safety of all the elements of the batteries already
available on the market. We also report on the recent batteries that are not yet commercialized,
but have been tested as demonstrators, which pass all the security tests without the help of any
battery monitoring system with almost unlimited cycling life, which is expected to reduce
significantly the cost of the electric vehicles.
 INTRODUCTION

A lithium polymer battery, or more correctly lithium-ion polymer battery (abbreviated as

Lithium Poly LIP, Li-poly, lithium-poly and others), is a rechargeable battery of lithium-ion
technology using a polymer electrolyte instead of a liquid electrolyte. High conductivity
semisolid (gel) polymers form this electrolyte. These batteries provide higher specific energy
than other lithium battery types and are used in applications where weight is a critical feature,
such as mobile devices, radio-controlled aircraft and some electric vehicles.

BRIEF HISTORY

LiPo cells follow the history of lithium-ion and lithium-metal cells which underwent extensive
research during the 1980s, reaching a significant milestone with Sony's first commercial
cylindrical Li-ion cell in 1991. After that, other packaging forms evolved, including the flat
pouch format.

Design origin and terminology

Lithium polymer cells have evolved from lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries. The primary
difference is that instead of using a liquid lithium-salt electrolyte (such as LiPF6) held in an
organic solvent (such as EC/DMC/DEC), the battery uses a solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) such
as poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO), poly (acrylonitrile) (PAN), ( polymethyl methacrylate) (PMMA)
or poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVdF).

The solid electrolyte can typically be classified as one of three types: dry SPE, gelled
SPE and porous SPE. The dry SPE was the first used in prototype batteries, around 1978 by
Michel Armand,[5][6] and 1985 by ANVAR and Elf Aquitaine of France, and Hydro-Québec of
Canada.[7] From 1990 several organisations like Mead and Valence in the United States and GS
Yuasa in Japan developed batteries using gelled SPEs.[7] In 1996, Bellcore in the United States
announced a rechargeable lithium polymer cell using porous SPE.

A typical cell has four main components: positive electrode, negative electrode, separator
and electrolyte. The separator itself may be a polymer, such as a microporous film of
polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP); thus, even when the cell has a liquid electrolyte, it will
still contain a "polymer" component. In addition to this, the positive electrode can be further
divided into three parts: the lithium-transition-metal-oxide (such as LiCoO2 or LiMn2O4), a
conductive additive, and a polymer binder of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVdF).[8][9] The
negative electrode material may have the same three parts, only with carbon replacing the
lithium-metal-oxide.

Working principle

Main article: Lithium-ion battery Electrochemistry

Just as with other lithium-ion cells, LiPos work on the principle of intercalation and de-
intercalation of lithium ions from a positive electrode material and a negative electrode material,
with the liquid electrolyte providing a conductive medium. To prevent the electrodes from
touching each other directly, a microporous separator is in between which allows only the ions
and not the electrode particles to migrate from one side to the other.

Voltage and state of charge

Main article: Lithium-ion battery § Charge and discharge

The voltage of a single LiPo cell depends on its chemistry and varies from about 4.2 V (fully
charged) to about 2.7–3.0 V (fully discharged), where the nominal voltage is 3.6 or 3.7 volts
(about the middle value of highest and lowest value) for cells based on lithium-metal-oxides
(such as LiCoO2). This compares to 3.6–3.8 V (charged) to 1.8–2.0 V (discharged) for those
based on lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4).

The exact voltage ratings should be specified in product data sheets, with the understanding that
the cells should be protected by an electronic circuit that won't allow them to overcharge nor
over-discharge under use.

LiPo battery packs, with cells connected in series and parallel, have separate pin-outs for every
cell. A specialized charger may monitor the charge on a per-cell basis so that all cells are brought
to the same state of charge (SOC).

APPLICATIONS

LiPo cells provide manufacturers with compelling advantages. They can easily produce batteries
of almost any desired shape. For example, the space and weight requirements of mobile devices
and notebook computers can be met. They also have a low self-discharge rate, which is about 5%
per month.
Drones, Radio controlled equipment and aircraft

3-Cell LiPo battery for RC models

LiPo batteries are now almost ubiquitous when used to power commercial and hobby drones
(unmanned aerial vehicles), radio-controlled aircraft, radio-controlled cars and large scale model
trains, where the advantages of lower weight and increased capacity and power delivery justify
the price. Test reports warn of the risk of fire when the batteries are not used in accordance with
the instructions.[13]

The voltage for long-time storage of LiPo battery used in the R/C model should be
3.6~3.9V range per cell, otherwise it may cause damage to the battery.[14]

LiPo packs also see widespread use in airsoft, where their higher discharge currents and better
energy density compared to more traditional NiMH batteries has very noticeable performance
gain (higher rate of fire). The high discharge currents do damage the switch contacts due to
arcing (causing the contacts to oxidize and often deposit carbon), so it is advised to either use a
solid-state MOSFET switch or clean the trigger contacts regularly

Personal electronics

LiPo batteries are pervasive in mobile devices, power banks, very thin laptop computers,
portable media players, wireless controllers for video game consoles, wireless PC peripherals,
electronic cigarettes, and other applications where small form factors are sought and the high
energy density outweighs cost considerations.

Electric vehicles

Hyundai Motor Company uses this type of battery in some of its battery electric and hybrid
vehicles,[15] as well as Kia Motors in their battery electric Kia Soul.[16] The Bolloré Bluecar,
which is used in car sharing schemes in several cities, also uses this type of battery.

Uninterruptible power supply systems

Lithium-ion batteries are becoming increasingly more commonplace in Uninterruptible power

supply (UPS) systems. They offer numerous benefits over the traditional VRLA battery and with
stability and safety improvements confidence in the technology is growing. Their power to size
and weight ratio is seen as a major benefit in many industries requiring critical power back up
including data centers where space is often at a premium. The longer cycle life, usable energy
(Depth of discharge), and thermal runaway are also seen as a benefit for using Li-po batteries
over VRLA batteries.

Jump starter

The battery used to start a vehicle engine is typically 12V or 24V, so a portable jump starter or
battery booster uses three or six LiPo batteries in series (3S1P/6S1P) to start the vehicle in an
emergency, instead of the other jump-start methods. The price of a lead-acid jump starter is less
but they are bigger and heavier than comparable lithium batteries, and so such products have
mostly switched to LiPo batteries or sometimes lithium iron phosphate batteries

SAFETY

All Li-ion cells expand at high levels of state of charge (SOC) or over-charge, due to slight
vaporisation of the electrolyte. This may result in delamination, and thus bad contact of the
internal layers of the cell, which in turn brings diminished reliability and overall cycle life of the
cell.[10] This is very noticeable for LiPos, which can visibly inflate due to lack of a hard case to
contain their expansion. The safety characteristics of Lithium Polymer batteries are different
from those of lithium iron phosphate batteries.

Lithium cells with solid polymer electrolyte:

Cells with solid polymer electrolytes have not reached full commercialization[18] and are still a
topic of research.[19] Prototype cells of this type could be considered to be between a traditional
lithium-ion battery (with liquid electrolyte) and a completely plastic, solid-state lithium-ion
battery.[20]
 CONCLUSION

The simplest approach is to use a polymer matrix, such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) or
poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN), gelled with conventional salts and solvents, such as LiPF6 in
EC/DMC/DEC.

Nishi mentions that Sony started research on lithium-ion cells with gelled polymer electrolytes
(GPE) in 1988, before the commercialisation of the liquid-electrolyte lithium-ion cell in 1991.
[21] At that time polymer batteries were promising and it seemed polymer electrolytes would
become indispensable.[22] Eventually, this type of cell went into the market in 1998.[21]
However, Scrosati argues that, in the strictest sense, gelled membranes cannot be classified as
"true" polymer electrolytes, but rather as hybrid systems where the liquid phases are contained
within the polymer matrix.[20] Although these polymer electrolytes may be dry to the touch,
they can still contain 30% to 50% liquid solvent.[23] In this regard, how to really define what a
"polymer battery" is remains an open question.

A solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) is a solvent-free salt solution in a polymer medium. It may be,
for example, a compound of lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSI) and high molecular weight
poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO),[26] or a high molecular weight poly(trimethylene carbonate)
(PTMC).[27]

The performance of these proposed electrolytes is usually measured in a half-cell configuration

against an electrode of metallic lithium, making the system a "lithium-metal" cell, but it has also
been tested with a common lithium-ion cathode material such as lithium-iron-phosphate
(LiFePO4).
 REFERENCE

Batteries: Advanced Technologies and Applications, John Wiley & Sons, 2013 ISBN
1118615395,page 44

Bruno Scrosati, K. M. Abraham, Walter A. van Schalkwijk, Jusef Hassoun (ed), Lithium

"Lithium-Ion Battery". Clean Energy Institute. Retrieved 6 January 2022.

"Lithium-Ion Battery". Clean Energy Institute. Retrieved 6 January 2022.

"Lithium Battery Configurations and Types of Lithium Cells". Power Sonic. 25 March 2021.
Retrieved 14 October 2021.

M. B. Armand; J. M. Chabagno; M. Duclot (20–22 September 1978). "Extended Abstracts".

Second International Meeting on Solid Electrolytes. St. Andrews, Scotland.

M. B. Armand, J. M. Chabagno & M. Duclot (1979). "Poly-ethers as solid electrolytes". In P.

Vashitshta; J.N. Mundy & G.K. Shenoy (eds.). Fast ion Transport in Solids. Electrodes
and Electrolytes. North Holland Publishers, Amsterdam.