STTR Phase I: Nanofiber Based Lithium Ion Battery Separator with Reversible Thermal Shutdown Capability

STTR 第一阶段：具有可逆热关断功能的纳米纤维锂离子电池隔膜

• 批准号: 1010176
• 负责人: Ravinder Reddy Nagireddy
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: ESPIN TECHNOLOGIES INC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-07-01 至 2011-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1010176&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: STTR; Phase; Nanofiber; Based; Lithium

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project seeks to establish the feasibility of an entirely new class of liquid electrolyte separator for Li ion batteries that has a built-in reversible thermal shutdown mechanism. With increasing use of Li ion batteries, safety is of particular concern as reports of occasional injuries appear in the news due to a short circuit, cell overcharge, or other overheating related catastrophic events. A separator medium having a reversible thermal shutdown mechanism means that Li ion batteries can automatically be shutdown before a thermal runaway incident occurs and can automatically be restarted once a safe thermal environment is restored. A Li ion battery separator with the targeted built-in reversible thermal shutdown capability not only addresses safety, but is also expected to extend the active life of a battery. The technical objectives of this project are to identify a suitable polymer material, optimize its material characteristics, and investigate the factors related to the reversible thermal shutdown, mechanical stability and durability. The polymer nanofiber web will be subjected to thermal cycling and the reversible thermal shutdown characteristics will be evaluated using impedance measurements. In this project, the composition and structure of a durable electrospun polymer nanofiber web with a reversible thermal shutdown characteristic will be identified.The broader/commercial impact of this project, if successful, will be an improvement in safety for Li ion batteries. This innovation has a direct impact on the safety of users. Moreover, the tendency to overheat also impacts Li Ion battery operations. The associated costs to address both issues have continued to be a barrier for wider adoption of Li Ion batteries, and thus, the successful outcome of this project also has the potential of lowering the cost of the battery technology. Development of a separator with reversible thermal shutdown capability will help lessen the hurdles that are deterring the Li Ion battery technology from achieving its potential in a forecasted $7 billion end user market. This collaboration between the small business and an academic partner involves a post-doctoral scientist at the academic institution, who will gain commercially relevant research experience.

这项小型企业技术转让（STTR）第一阶段项目旨在建立一种全新类型的锂离子电池液体电解质分离器的可行性，该分离器具有内置可逆热关闭机制。随着锂离子电池的使用越来越多，由于短路、电池过充或其他与过热相关的灾难性事件，偶尔会出现受伤的报道，因此安全性受到特别关注。具有可逆热关闭机制的隔膜介质意味着锂离子电池可以在热失控事件发生之前自动关闭，并且可以在恢复安全热环境后自动重新启动。内置可逆热关机功能的锂离子电池分离器不仅解决了安全性问题，而且有望延长电池的有效寿命。该项目的技术目标是确定一种合适的聚合物材料，优化其材料特性，并研究与可逆热停机、机械稳定性和耐久性相关的因素。聚合物纳米纤维网将受到热循环和可逆热关闭特性将通过阻抗测量进行评估。在本项目中，将确定具有可逆热关闭特性的耐用静电纺聚合物纳米纤维网的组成和结构。如果成功，该项目的更广泛/商业影响将是锂离子电池安全性的提高。这一创新直接影响到用户的安全。此外，过热的趋势也会影响锂离子电池的运行。解决这两个问题的相关成本一直是锂离子电池广泛采用的障碍，因此，该项目的成功结果也有可能降低电池技术的成本。开发一种具有可逆热关闭能力的分离器，将有助于减少阻碍锂离子电池技术在预计70亿美元的终端用户市场中发挥潜力的障碍。小企业和学术合作伙伴之间的这种合作涉及学术机构的博士后科学家，他将获得与商业相关的研究经验。