Tuning Ion Conducting Pathways Using Holographic Polymerization

锂离子电池是便携式电子设备的首选系统，因为它们具有高能量密度、灵活和轻便的设计以及较长的寿命。如果将金属锂用于形成锂金属电池，则可以获得更高的功率密度。然而，该系统被证明是不可行的，因为目前使用的液体电解液可能会导致爆炸危险。为了实现锂金属电池的安全运行，需要具有机械强度的聚合物电解质膜或具有良好的室温离子导电性的质子交换膜。这笔赠款为开发一种新的纳米制造工艺提供资金，即全息聚合，以制造这种薄膜。全息聚合利用多光束和光敏材料混合物来创建功能纳米结构。在这笔赠款下，将使用这项技术制造一系列具有精确结构控制的聚合物电解质膜。具体地说，电解液将形成微小的通道，其大小约为人类头发直径的百万分之一。这样的通道将显著提高这些膜的离子传导效率，同时保持它们的强度。该项目将导致一个前所未有的聚合物电解质膜的库，使锂金属电池能够安全运行。所提出的系统是有利的，因为在这些膜中可以以可控的方式形成非常规则的微小的离子传导通道。因此，提出的方法为提高质子交换膜的机械和离子导电性能提供了一个有前途的解决方案，这是在锂电池中使用此类材料的主要挑战。拟议的系统中也有许多材料可供选择，以满足不同的电池需求。此外，制造过程大约需要30秒，它可能与连续的卷到卷纳米制造相结合，用于放大目的。

Lithium-ion batteries are the systems of choice for portable electronic devices because they offer high-energy density, flexible and lightweight design and long lifespan. If lithium metal is used to form lithium-metal battery, even higher power densities can be achieved. However, the system proved to be not viable, because the liquid electrolytes currently used can lead to explosion hazards. In order to achieve safe operation for lithium-metal battery, mechanically strong polymer electrolyte membranes or PEMs with good room temperature ionic conductivity are needed. This grant provides funding for development of a novel nanomanufacturing process, i.e. holographic polymerization, to fabricate such membranes. Holographic polymerization employs multiple light beams and photosensitive material mixtures to create functional nanostructures. Under this grant, a series of polymer electrolyte membranes with precise structural control will be fabricated using this technique. Specifically, electrolytes will form tiny channels with the size of approximately a millionth of the diameter of a human hair. Such channels will significantly improve the efficiency of ion conduction in these membranes, while they retain their strength.The project will lead to a library of unprecedented polymer electrolyte membranes that enable safe operation of lithium-metal batteries. The proposed system is advantageous because extremely regular, tiny ion conducting channels can be formed in a controllable fashion in these membranes. Therefore, the proposed approach provides a promising solution to achieving both enhanced mechanical and ionic conducting properties of PEMs, a major challenge for using such materials in lithium batteries. There are also numerous material choices in the proposed system to meet different battery needs. Furthermore, the fabrication process takes approximately 30 seconds, and it can potentially be combined with continuous, roll-to-roll nanomanufacturing for scale-up purposes.