Anion-Sorbent Composite Separators for High-Rate Lithium-Ion Batteries

Chen Zhang; Li Shen; Jianqiang Shen; Fang Liu; Gen Chen; Ran Tao; Shengxiang Ma; Yiting Peng; Yunfeng Lu

doi:10.1002/adma.201808338

Anion-Sorbent Composite Separators for High-Rate Lithium-Ion Batteries

Adv Mater. 2019 May;31(21):e1808338. doi: 10.1002/adma.201808338. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

Authors

Chen Zhang^{1

2}, Li Shen^{1

2}, Jianqiang Shen², Fang Liu², Gen Chen², Ran Tao², Shengxiang Ma², Yiting Peng¹, Yunfeng Lu²

Affiliations

¹ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Materials Protection and Advanced Materials in Electric Power, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai, 200090, P. R. China.
² Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.

PMID: 30957302
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201808338

Abstract

Novel composite separators containing metal-organic-framework (MOF) particles and poly(vinyl alcohol) are fabricated by the electrospinning process. The MOF particles containing opened metal sites can spontaneously adsorb anions while allowing effective transport of lithium ions in the electrolyte, leading to dramatically improved lithium-ion transference number t_Li ⁺ (up to 0.79) and lithium-ion conductivity. Meanwhile, the incorporation of the MOF particles alleviates the decomposition of the electrolyte, enhances the electrode reaction kinetics, and reduces the interface resistance between the electrolyte and the electrodes. Implementation of such composite separators in conventional lithium-ion batteries leads to significantly improved rate capability and cycling durability, offering a new prospective toward high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

Keywords: Li+ transference number; composite separators; electrospinning; high-rate batteries; metal-organic frameworks.