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

I-Corps：通过保形增材制造实现固态聚合物电池

• 批准号: 2132348
• 负责人: Jae-Won Choi
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: University of Akron
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-06-01 至 2023-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2132348&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Solid; State; Polymer; Batteries

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.

这个I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发全固态电池，其中固体聚合物电解质（SPE）和电气元件是3D打印的。所提出的技术旨在消除与当前液体电解质锂（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师摆脱当前的实心几何形状，例如，圆柱形、圆盘形和平板形，变为消费者需求所青睐的实用、三维、灵活的形状。 这种灵活性意味着高度的设计自由度。所提出的技术可以使得能够使用3D可打印电池制造技术来制造具有改进的尺寸精度和安全性的高性能柔性结构，这通过离子聚合物和多材料保形3D打印的独特材料能力来实现。尺寸精度和安全性还可以允许产品设计者开发具有集成电池的紧凑型产品，其以较少的设计约束降低开发成本。目前，固态电池需要昂贵的定制模具，这增加了单位生产成本。该技术可以通过3D打印电池组件来降低成本，从而实现材料特性的微调，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开发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质，由于溶剂的闪点低，这存在问题。该安全问题可以使用具有阻燃、轻质和表现出高离子电导率的特性的固体聚合物印刷来克服。初步研究表明，可以调整机械性能以满足精确的客户规格，其中基础配方由可光交联单体、锂盐和增塑剂组成。此外，以前的研究表明，保形3D打印，在自由曲面上的3D打印，可以使3D结构能够在几乎任何表面上构建。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电导率（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上印刷电池。该奖项反映了NSF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。