I-Corps: Solid-State Polymer Batteries Enabled by Conformal Additive Manufacturing

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是全固态电池的开发，其中固体聚合物电解液(SPE)和电子部件是3D打印的。拟议的技术旨在消除与当前液体电解液锂(Li)离子电池相关的火灾和爆炸危险。此外，3D打印的使用可以使产品设计者从当前的实心几何形状，例如圆柱体、圆盘和平板，转移到消费者需求所青睐的实用的、三维的、灵活的形状。这种灵活性意味着高度的设计自由。拟议的技术可以利用3D可打印电池制造技术来制造高性能的柔性结构，并通过离子聚合物和多材料共形3D打印的独特材料能力来提高尺寸精度和安全性。尺寸的准确性和安全性也可能使产品设计师开发出集成电池的紧凑型产品，以更少的设计限制降低开发成本。目前，固态电池需要昂贵的定制模具，这会增加单位生产成本。这项拟议的技术可以通过3D打印电池组件来降低成本，从而实现材料属性的微调，同时为特定的定制电池应用增加设计灵活性。这个i-Corps项目是基于使用离子化合物和聚合物在自由表面上打印固体聚合物电解质的3D打印技术。目前的电池技术要求使用挥发性有机液体电解液，但由于溶剂的闪点低，这带来了一个问题。使用具有阻燃、轻质和高离子导电性的固体聚合物印刷可以克服这一安全问题。初步研究表明，机械性能可以进行调整，以满足客户的精确规格，其中基础配方由光交联型单体、锂盐和增塑剂组成。此外，先前的研究表明，保形3D打印，即在自由曲面上的3D打印，可以使3D结构几乎建立在任何表面上。保形3D打印和固体聚合物电解质的结合为开发几乎任何三维形状的3D可定制电池提供了独特的机会。未来的研究将集中在提高离子传导性(具有更高的表面积)以及证明保形印刷可以用于在现有产品表面印刷电池。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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 I-Corps project is the development of all-solid-state batteries, where a solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) and electrical components are 3D-printed. The proposed technology is designed to eliminate the fire and explosion hazards associated with current liquid electrolyte lithium (Li)-ion batteries. In addition, the use of 3D printing may free product designers to move away from current solid geometrical shapes, e.g., cylinders, discs, and flat plates, to practical, three-dimensional, flexible shapes that are favored by consumer demand. This flexibility means a high degree of design freedom. The proposed technology may enable the use of 3D printable battery manufacturing technology to make high-performance flexible structures with improved dimensional accuracy and safety, enabled by the unique material capabilities of ionic polymers and multi-material conformal 3D printing. Dimensional accuracy and safety may also allow product designers to develop compact products with integrated batteries that lower developmental costs with fewer design constraints. Currently, solid-state batteries require expensive custom molds that increase unit production costs. The proposed technology may lower costs by 3D printing the battery components enabling the fine-tuning of material properties while adding design flexibility to specific custom battery applications. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a 3D printing technology for solid polymer electrolytes on a freeform surface using ionic compounds and polymers. Current battery technologies calls for the use of volatile organic liquid electrolytes that present a problem due to the low flashpoints of the solvents. This safety issue may be overcome using solid polymer printing with properties that are flame retardant, lightweight, and exhibit high ionic conductivity. Preliminary research has shown that the mechanical properties may be tuned to meet precise customer specifications where base formulations consist of a photocrosslinkable monomer, lithium salt, and plasticizer. In addition, previous research has shown that conformal 3D printing, 3D printing on a freeform surface, may enable a 3D structure to be built on virtually any surface. The combination of conformal 3D printing and solid polymer electrolytes offers a unique opportunity for developing a 3D customizable battery of practically any three dimensional shape. Future research will focus on increasing ionic conductivity (with higher surface areas) as well as proving that conformal printing may be used to print batteries on existing product surfaces.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.