NSF/FDA SIR: Safer (polymeric) batteries in medical devices and evolving regulatory framework

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Batteries play an important role in the overall function, reliability, and safety of many medical devices such as pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators, glucose monitoring devices, and wheelchairs. The insights gained in this one-year NSF/FDA Scholar-In-Residence fundamental research project will aid and inform the development of protocols that demonstrate safety and feasibility of polymer electrolytes for lithium batteries. Success of this project will help streamline the regulation of solid polymer electrolytes in medical devices as a safer alternative. In addition to the impacts on science, the project will also broadly impact engineering education, training students of different educational levels and from diverse backgrounds. Several initiatives are planned, including specific programs that assist in undergraduate and graduate education, graduate student mentoring, and training of high school students. The goal of this project is to better understand the electrochemical, transport, and safety properties of water-containing solid polymer electrolytes. A small amount of water acts as a super plasticizer of the polymer matrix and provides an alternative conduction pathway that significantly improves cation transport. Additionally, the inclusion of water is expected to have a significant impact on the safety of the resulting battery device. Specifically, the Investigator’s propose to study an aqueous solid polymer electrolyte (ASPE) consisting of varying amounts of polyacrylonitrile (PAN), water, and lithium salt as a model system to probe these questions. An investigation of these ASPEs will focus on determining how salt concentration, water concentration, and polymer molecular weight can affect ionic conductivity, cation transport, electrochemical stability, cell safety, and cell performance. Gaining insight into the water-dominant transport mechanism causing the enhanced electrochemical performance of the proposed ASPE systems will greatly benefit the design of the next generation of batteries for medical devices. Full cell devices will undergo safety testing that will help inform an emerging regulatory framework for assessing the safety of polymer electrolytes for use in medical devices.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.