PFI-TT: Polymer coatings for High-Energy Lithium Batteries

该创新技术转化伙伴关系（PFI-TT）项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是开发可充电锂金属电池（lmb），该电池能够满足大规模使用所需的成本、安全性和性能标准。使用锂金属箔作为电能存储方法的可充电电池长期以来一直受到关注，因为它们为能量密集的电力存储提供了轻量级平台，以满足消费者对更轻、更小、更强大的便携式设备的需求。lmb的商业化也代表了电气化运输和电网存储领域的进步，因为对于给定的尺寸，这些电池提供的存储容量是目前最先进的锂离子技术的2 - 5倍。作为推动商业利益的一步，该项目将开发、评估和展示各种尺寸的可充电锂电池，并将探索其可制造性和市场进入要求。拟议的项目将开发交联的离子导电聚合物膜，可应用于金属锂阳极的界面涂层（界面）。众所周知，锂金属在电池充电过程中形成粗糙/枝晶沉积的倾向是lmb商业化的关键障碍。在多次充放电循环中，树突在整个电极间空间生长和增殖，当它们桥接电极使电池短路时，最终会导致灾难性的电池故障。该项目的研究将在锂电极上创建交联聚合物涂层，首席研究员的初步研究表明，这为在低离子电流和高离子电流下阻止树枝状电沉积提供了多种强大的策略。在低电流下，这种界面相通过保护锂金属免受电解质成分的寄生反应来防止枝晶的形成，从而促进了快速均匀的界面离子传输，从而实现更均匀的沉积。在高电流下，交联聚合物界面赋予液体电解质粘弹性，通过阻止流体动力学不稳定性（即电对流）来阻止枝晶生长。该研究的具体目标是创造可扩展的工艺来制造耐枝晶的聚合物涂覆锂电极，该研究将研究涂层化学引起的结构、力学和输运性质的变化如何影响锂电沉积过程的可逆性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is the development of rechargeable lithium metal batteries (LMBs) able to meet the cost, safety, and performance criteria required for large-scale use. Rechargeable batteries that use lithium metal foil as the electrical energy storage method are of longstanding interest because they provide lightweight platforms for energy-dense storage of electricity to meet consumer demands for portable devices that are lighter, smaller, and more powerful. Commercial availability of LMBs would also represent an improvement for the electrified transportation and grid storage sectors because for a given size, these batteries offer 2 - 5 times more storage capacity than current state-of-the art lithium-ion technology. As a step towards driving commercial interest, this project will develop, evaluate, and demonstrate rechargeable lithium batteries in various sizes, and will explore their manufacturability and market entry requirements. The proposed project will develop cross-linked, ion-conducting polymer membranes that can be applied as interfacial coatings (interphases) on the metallic lithium anodes. It is known that the propensity of Li metal to form rough/dendritic deposits during battery recharge is a key barrier to commercialization of LMBs. During multiple charge-discharge cycles, the dendrites grow and proliferate throughout the inter-electrode space, ultimately causing catastrophic battery failure when they bridge the electrodes to short-circuit the battery. Research in the project will create cross-linked polymer coatings on Li electrodes, which preliminary studies by the Principal Investigator show provide multiple powerful strategies for arresting dendritic electrodeposition at both low and high ionic currents. At low currents, such interphases prevent dendrite formation by protecting Li metal against parasitic reactions with electrolyte components, which facilitates fast and uniform interfacial ion transport, enabling more uniform deposition. At high currents, cross-linked polymer interphases impart viscoelasticity to a liquid electrolyte, which prevent dendrite growth by arresting the hydrodynamic instability known as electroconvection. With the specific aim of creating scalable processes for fabricating dendrite-resistant, polymer-coated Li electrodes, the research proposed will investigate how changes in structure, mechanics, and transport properties induced by coating chemistry influence the reversibility of Li electrodeposition processes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.