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A novel modified PP separator by grafting PAN for high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries

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Abstract

A novel modified separator was synthesized with an ultraviolet irradiated polypropylene (PP) membrane and acrylonitrile monomers by a solution grafting reaction. It was demonstrated that polyacrylonitrile (PAN) was grafted on the PP separator surface by analyzing the results of FESEM, ATR–FTIR and XPS. The thermostability and wettability of the PAN-grafted PP (PP-g-PAN) separator were enhanced. Then, Li–S batteries were assembled using the modified separators. The cycling and rate capacity performance is improved clearly because of the higher liquid uptake, smaller porous size, better polysulfides absorption effect and interfacial affinity of the grafted separator. The modified separator can hinder the movement of Li2Sx effectively to prevent the shuttle effect of a Li–S battery. Therefore, this efficient method has great potential to be applied to the modification of other kinds of polymer membranes.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (Nos. U1504211, 51502082, 21471049), the Key Project of Science and Technology Department of Henan Province (Nos. 172102210049, 172102210349), and the Key Project of Science and Technology of Henan Educational Committee, China (No. 14B150007).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Physics and Materials Science, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, 453007, Henan, China

    Chengbin Li

  2. Department of Electrical Engineering, Henan Institute of Technology, Xinxiang, 453003, Henan, China

    Chengbin Li

  3. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, 453007, Henan, China

    Hongyun Yue, Qiuxian Wang, Huishuang Zhang, Xiangnan Li, Hongyu Dong & Shuting Yang

  4. National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Motive Power and Key Materials, Xinxiang, 453007, Henan, China

    Chengbin Li, Hongyun Yue, Qiuxian Wang, Huishuang Zhang, Xiangnan Li, Hongyu Dong & Shuting Yang

  5. Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology of Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, 150001, China

    Mengjiao Shi

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  1. Chengbin Li
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Correspondence to Hongyun Yue or Shuting Yang.

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Li, C., Yue, H., Wang, Q. et al. A novel modified PP separator by grafting PAN for high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries. J Mater Sci 54, 1566–1579 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-018-2903-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-018-2903-2

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