I-Corps: Hybrid solid-liquid cathode to boost lithium primary battery energy

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种高能量密度的初级(不可充电)电池，以延长电池寿命并降低电池尺寸/重量，用于独立的持久电子产品。一次电池的能量密度是锂离子的3倍，对于需要高能量、可靠性和便携性的应用至关重要，例如植入式/便携式医疗设备(例如起搏器)、无人驾驶飞行器、军事和空间设备以及远程监测传感器。这些行业对高能初级电池有着强烈的未得到满足的需求，因为它们允许更长的运行时间，并且可以安装在比可充电锂离子电池更小的设备中。尽管需求不断增加，但在过去的40年里，当所有目前已知的初级阴极都得到了广泛的研究时，电池化学几乎没有什么根本性的创新。这项拟议的技术利用了最近开发的高能阴极化学，可以将目前市场领先的系统(Li-CFX)的能量密度提高50%，具有良好的安全特性，成本几乎没有增加。建议的电池系统的高能量密度可能会导致总体上需要较少的电池(由于延长了电池寿命)，减轻了一次电池对环境的影响，因为它们在许多应用中是不可避免的。该i-Corps项目基于利用液态氟化反应物(LFR)开发的一种新型能量密集型阴极(阴极+电解液)。建议的LFR电池显示出固有的高能量密度，并且坚固耐用和高度可重复性。此外，LFR和Solid CFX之间的兼容性使电池设计发生了重大变化，LFR阴极与固态阴极杂交，以最大限度地减轻非活性电池组件(例如，电解液溶剂)的重量，电池材料被更有效地用于存储能量。结果表明，与目前市场领先的电池相比，电池的能量密度提高了20%，通过电池结构优化，有可能进一步提高50%。关键的是，阴极液被注入电池，使用当前的生产方法，这与既定的电池形状因素一致，并且几乎不需要对电池组件进行修改，从而将电池制造商的切换成本降至最低。此外，LFR的价格与商业固体阴极相似，使LFR电池在扩大规模后的预计成本与最先进的电池相当。考虑到LFR的高热稳定性和化学稳定性、低挥发性和低腐蚀性，建议的LFR电池也有望具有良好的安全特性。该奖项反映了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 a high energy density primary (non-rechargeable) battery to extend battery life and decrease battery size/weight for stand-alone long-lasting electronics. Primary batteries, with energy density 3x higher than lithium (Li)-ion, are critical for applications where high energy, reliability, and portability are essential, such as implantable/portable medical devices (e.g., pacemakers), unmanned vehicles, military and space devices, and remote monitoring sensors. These industries have strong unmet needs for high-energy primaries because they allow longer-duration operating time and can fit into smaller devices than rechargeable Li-ion. Despite the increasing demand, there have been few fundamental innovations in cell chemistries in the past 40 years, when all currently-known primary cathodes were extensively investigated. The proposed technology utilizes a recently developed high-energy cathode chemistry that may boost the energy density of the current market-leading system (Li-CFx) by a projected 50%, with good safety characteristics and little/no increase in cost. The high energy density of the proposed battery system may result in fewer batteries being needed overall (owing to increased battery life), mitigating environmental impacts of primary batteries given that their use is unavoidable in many applications.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a new class of energy-dense catholyte (cathode + electrolyte) utilizing liquid fluorinated reactants (LFRs). The proposed LFR cells exhibit intrinsically high energy densities and are robust and highly reproducible. Moreover, the compatibility between LFR and solid CFx enabled a significant evolution in cell design, where LFR catholytes are hybridized with solid-state cathodes to minimize the weight of inactive cell components (e.g., electrolyte solvents), and the battery materials are more efficiently used for storing energy. Results have shown a 20% boost in energy density over the current market-leading battery, and further improvement by 50% may be possible with cell structure optimization. Critically, the catholyte is injected into the cell using current production methodologies, which is consistent with established cell form factors and requires little modification to cell assembly, minimizing switching costs to battery manufacturers. Additionally, the price of the LFR is similar to that of the commercial solid cathodes, making the projected cost of the LFR cell after scaling up comparable to the state-of-the-art batteries. The proposed LFR cells also are expected to have good safety characteristics given the high thermal and chemical stability, low volatility, and low corrosivity of LFRs.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.