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Lithiated poly (ether ether ketone) separators with excellent thermal stability and electrolyte wettability for lithium-ion battery

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Abstract

The separators with excellent thermal stability and electrolyte wettability are pivotal for ensuring the safety and performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Poly (ether ether ketone) (PEEK) is a potential separator material that meets these criteria. However, the poor solubility and high melting temperature of PEEK limit its practical production and application. Herein, we report a safe and convenient strategy to fabricate lithiated poly (ether ether ketone) (LPEEK) separators via lithiation of PEEK and thermally induced phase separation below the melting point. And the pore structure of LPEEK separators can be regulated by the amount of polyvinylpyrrolidone. Compared with commercial polypropylene (PP) separators and other PEEK separators, our LPEEK separators exhibit excellent thermal stability (LPEEK, almost no change at 200 °C; PP, shrink 4.4% at 100 °C) and electrolyte wettability (electrolyte contact angle: LPEEK, 0°; PP, 37.9°). Meanwhile, the LPEEK separators can still be used normally after 200 °C high-temperature treatment and are promising candidates for the LIB separators used at high temperatures. The proposed method holds promise for the industrial production of PEEK separators.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by NSFC Projects of International Cooperation and Exchanges (Grant Nos. 52020105012) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant Nos. YCJJ202202004, 2021yjsCXCY023).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Longhui Li, Ruoyu Xiong, Mengyuan Zhou, Shuang Sun, Guancheng Shen, Lan Song, Yun Zhang & Huamin Zhou

  2. Key Laboratory for Material Chemistry of Energy Conversion and Storage, Ministry of Education, and Hubei Key Lab of Materials Chemistry and Service Failure, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Xuyang Wang

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  1. Longhui Li
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Li, L., Xiong, R., Wang, X. et al. Lithiated poly (ether ether ketone) separators with excellent thermal stability and electrolyte wettability for lithium-ion battery. J Mater Sci 57, 18980–18992 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-022-07761-0

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