Polymer Precursors for Interfaces, Binders and Adhesives for Ceramic Solid-State Battery Components

非技术描述：社会电气化要求开发更安全，高能量密度的化学能储存方法。一个明确的目标是开发全固态电池（ASB），特别是那些依赖于陶瓷电解质的电池，因为它们提供了实现安全、高能量密度存储的最佳潜力，从而可能消除目前世界范围内使用的最先进电池系统的许多缺点。由于陶瓷电解质通常在超过处理阳极和阴极材料所需的温度下烧结; ASB的组装需要一种方法，该方法导致组件之间的明确界面和与跨界面的有效离子传输一致的表面的良好配合，而不会损害单个组件。精心设计的聚合物作为粘合剂已经开发出来，提供所有必要的性能，以达到这一目的。更重要的是，在加热到远低于用于形成阴极、电解质和一些阳极材料的温度时，它们形成如预期那样起作用的玻璃或陶瓷界面。事实上，它们的性能有时超过使用高真空溅射方法产生的类似界面几个数量级。这种行为的原因尚不清楚，但提供了特殊的潜力，实现上级ASB使用较低的成本处理方法，提供了其行为背后的基础科学可以充分探索。这就是这里所描述的项目的基础。在该项目的过程中，多达三名研究生和几名本科生将从事研究;多样性是学生选择的优先事项。与当地的底特律和Yspilanti学校的接触是一个持续的优先事项，以吸引服务不足的人口的科学和工程事业。研究成果将通过传统科学期刊、国际会议（特别是学生的演讲）、讲习班（适当时）和制作新的培训视频进行传播。如果成功的话，预计正在开发的方法和方法可以（i）减少对稀缺元素的依赖，以及（ii）显著影响固态电池的组装方式，因为与目前商业上使用的最先进的电池相比，它有可能简化组装过程，同时还可以提高能量密度并大大提高电池安全性。技术优势：聚合物衍生陶瓷（PDCs）是先进陶瓷的前体，是40多年前首次探索的领域。该小组最初为结构陶瓷开发了有关其设计、加工和特性优化的原则，例如用于陶瓷/陶瓷复合材料的SiC和YAG陶瓷纤维。最近，这些原理被应用于设计和优化氧化物超导纤维的工艺。该项目扩展了这些原则，以开发，优化，特别是建立结构-加工-性能的关系，Li+，Na+和可能的Mg 2+含玻璃/陶瓷。初步研究表明，含有Li、P、O、N、H和Li的聚合物（LiPON前体）可以配制并用作多个薄膜（50 μ m以下）陶瓷电解质、阴极和阳极组件的涂层和粘合剂;即LATSP、LLZO、LiA-10 x、LTO等。该项目的重点是详细了解一组LiPON样前体的逐步分子和相演变，以澄清分子到陶瓷转化的机制，从而实现意想不到的，特殊的离子传导行为。一个长期目标是使用这些研究的预期结果来提高LiAlOx电解质的效用，薄型LATSP和/或LLZO薄膜不再是ASB组装的必要部分，从而降低了ASB的成本。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识产权进行评估，优点和更广泛的影响审查标准。

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: The electrification of society mandates the development of safer, high energy density methods of storing chemical energy. One clear objective is the development of all-solid state batteries (ASBs), especially those relying on ceramic electrolytes, as they offer the best potential to realize safe, high energy density storage potentially eliminating many of the short-comings of current state-of-the-art battery systems used world-wide. Because ceramic electrolytes are typically sintered at temperatures that exceed those needed to process anode and cathode materials; the assembly of ASBs requires an approach that leads to well-defined interfaces between components and good mating of surfaces coincident with effective ion transport across the interface without also compromising the individual components. Carefully designed polymers that act as adhesives have been developed that offer all of the requisite properties to serve this purpose. Of further importance, on heating to temperatures well below those used to form the cathode, electrolyte and some anode materials, they form glassy or ceramic interfaces that function as anticipated. Indeed, their performance exceeds similar interfaces produced using high vacuum sputtering methods sometimes by orders of magnitude. The reasons for this behavior are not known and yet offer exceptional potential to realize superior ASBs using lower cost processing methods providing that the basic science behind their behavior can be fully explored. This then is the basis for the project described here. Over the course of the project, up to three graduate students and several undergraduate students will be engaged in research; diversity is a priority in the selection of students. Engagement with local Detroit and Yspilanti schools is an ongoing priority to attract underserved populations to science and engineering careers. Research results will be disseminated via tradi-tional scientific journals, international meetings especially with presentations by students, via workshops (where appropriate) and through the creation of new training videos. If successful, it is anticipated that the approach and methods under development could (i) reduce reliance on scarce elements, and (ii) significantly impact how solid-state batteries are assembled given its potential to simplify the assembly process while also increasing energy densities and greatly improving battery safety compared with state-of-the-art batteries currently used commercially. TECHNICAL DETAILS: Polymer derived ceramics (PDCs), precursors to advanced ceramics, is an area first explored more than 40 years ago. The principles concerning their design, processing and characterization for properties optimization were developed by this group originally for structural ceramics, e.g. SiC and YAG ceramic fibers for ceramic/ceramic composites. More recently these principles were applied to designing and optimizing processing of oxide superconducting fibers. This project extends these principles to develop, optimize and especially establish structure-processing-properties relationships to Li+, Na+ and possibly Mg2+ containing glasses/ceramics. Initial studies show that polymers containing Li, P, O, N, H and Li (LiPON precursors) can be formulated and used as coatings and adhesives for multiple thin film (under 50 um) ceramic electrolyte, cathode and anode components; i.e. LATSP, LLZO, LiA-lOx, LTO, etc. The resulting materials provide Li+ conductivities up to 103x superior to gas phase deposited LiPON. This project focuses on developing a detailed understanding of the stepwise molecular and phase evolution of a set of LiPON-like precursors in an effort to clarify the mechanism(s) whereby the molecular to ceramic transformations enable the unexpected, exceptional ion conducting behavior. One long term goal is to use the anticipated outcomes of these studies to improve the utility of LiAlOx electrolytes to the point where the complex processing needed to produce high quality, thin LATSP and/or LLZO films is no longer a necessary part of the assembly of ASBs thereby resulting in lower cost ASBs.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.