Abstract
In quest of developing sustainable separator for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), this research focuses on functionalization of low cost cellulose based commercial paper using duo-polymer and nano-SiO2 by designing a facile aqueous based industry friendly wet-coating process. Unlike commercial plastic based polyolefin separators (polypropylene/polyethylene), the developed paper separator shows superior thermal stability > 200 °C without dimensional shrinkage, excellent electrolyte wettability (147%) with zero contact angle, quicker electrolyte saturation and satisfactory mechanical strength (34.86–38.31 MPa). The electrochemical performance carried out in 2032 coin cells using fabricated paper separators shows comparable performance to that of commercial polypropylene (PP) based separator at different current densities of 0.05–0.4 mA/cm2 with excellent columbic efficiency (> 96%) and good capacity retention on cycling. The developed separator is found to be compatible with most of the commercial electrodes (MCMB, LiCoO2, LiFePO4) used in today’s LIBs. The functionalized cellulose-ceramic composite paper separator shows excellent flame retardant properties by offering an added safety features for its successful use in lithium-ion batteries.
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The database used and/or analyses during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to the Director, CSIR-Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute, Kolkata, India, for her permission to publish this work. The authors acknowledge the extensive support received from CSIR, India (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, India) to develop the paper based separator as well as to design and fabricate an in-house-dedicated machine for scaling-up the developed separators under CSIR-sponsored projects-TAPSUN and FTT. The authors gratefully acknowledge the current financial support received from Department of Science & Technology, Government of India (DST, India).
Funding
The financial support received from Department of Science & Technology, Government of India (DST, India), Sanction No. DST/TMD/MECSP/2 K17/07 (G) dated 10.05.2019.
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Author MD helped in fabrication, data acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data. Author PSD helped in fabrication, physical characterization, mechanical testing, reviewed the manuscript. Author RNB conceptualized the idea and design of separator, revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content. Author MWR conceptualized the idea and design of separator, analysed the data, prepared figures/plotting, analysed cell performance data and wrote the manuscript.
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Fig.S1: Cycle No. vs Capacity plot of Untreated paper and functionalized paper separator (CPS15) at different current densities (0.1–0.4 mA/cm2); Fig.S2: Cycle No. vs Capacity plot of Untreated paper, Lowest Ceramic loaded (CPS01) and Highest Ceramic loaded (CPS15) paper separator at a current density of 0.2 mA/cm2. Fig.S3 Pore size distribution plot from BET absorption isotherm; Table S1 Specific surface area, average pore radius and total pore volume of fabricated paper separators (DOCX 23927 KB)
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Das, M., Das, P.S., Basu, R.N. et al. Cellulose-ceramic composite flexible paper separator with improved wettability and flame retardant properties for lithium-ion batteries. Cellulose 29, 9899–9917 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-022-04873-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-022-04873-3