RII Track-4: Developing and Investigating Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Ultrathin Solid Electrolytes with NREL for Lithium Ion Batteries

非技术描述随着锂离子电池(LIB)市场的不断扩大，电池可靠性和安全性的重要性也在不断提高。商业使用的有机液体电解质由于其高挥发性和易燃性，在LIBS中仍然是一个巨大的安全问题。固体电解质因其不燃性、防渗性和抗枝晶生长损伤等特点，作为潜在的替代材料受到了极大的关注。具有互补性质的固体电解质主要有两种：固体聚合物电解质(SPE)和无机固体陶瓷电解质(ISE)。本项目计划开发具有层状双层结构的超薄ISE/SPE混合电解质薄膜，并研究其ISE/SPE界面特性以及这些特性对锂离子传输和电导的影响。该项目的成果将极大地促进设计和制造具有纳米级工程结构和性能的固体电解质的知识，以实现更安全的LiBS。在尖端技术方面的培训和实践经验，以及通过该项目建立的合作关系，将直接有利于皮？S在混合电解液方面的继续研究计划，并极大地提高UL老佛爷的研究能力。SPE具有制备工艺简单、柔韧性好等优点，但存在离子电导率低、热稳定性差、抗氧化性差等缺点。ISE具有相对较高的离子导电性和较高的热稳定性，但柔韧性很低。鉴于SPE和ISE性质的互补性，已有研究开发以块状结构或ISE/SPE层状多层结构填充的SPE和ISE复合电解质。研究发现，SPE/ISE界面性质是影响锂离子转移路径和电导率的关键因素。通过这项工作对ISE/SPE界面行为的理解将为设计和开发实际应用于LiBS的固体杂化电解质材料提供指导。在本项目中，由于填料-块体类型的电解液具有太多复杂的界面相互作用，因此将采用具有较大界面面积的层状双层结构作为ISE/SPE电解液界面研究的模型。影响电解液性能的另外两个主要因素包括膜厚和膜均匀度。该项目将利用两种技术制造工艺(空气控制电喷雾和磁控溅射)的独特组合，不仅显著降低电解液膜厚并改善膜的均匀性，而且还允许根据应用-S特殊需求灵活地制备不同类型的固体电解液，例如直接在电极上沉积固体电解液(对3D电池尤为重要)或独立的薄膜电解液膜。该项目的成果和科学发现对基础知识进步和应用技术发展都具有重要意义。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。

Nontechnical DescriptionAs the market for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) keeps expanding, the importance of battery reliability and safety continues to rise. Commercially used organic liquid electrolytes in LIBs remain a huge safety issue due to their high volatility and flammability. Solid-state electrolytes have attracted great attention as the potential replacement due to their nonflammability, leakproof feature, and resistance to damage caused by dendrite growth. There are two main types of solid electrolytes with complementary properties: solid polymer electrolytes (SPE) and inorganic solid ceramic electrolytes (ISE). This project plans to develop ultrathin ISE/SPE hybrid electrolyte films with laminated bilayer configuration and to study their ISE/SPE interface properties and how these properties influence lithium ion transport and conductivity. The outcomes of this project will greatly advance the knowledge of design and fabrication of solid electrolytes with nanoscale engineered structures and properties for safer LIBs. The training and hands-on experience on cutting-edge technologies and the collaborations established via this program will directly benefit the PI?s continuing research plan on hybrid electrolytes and greatly enhance the research capacity of UL Lafayette. Technical DescriptionSPE have the advantages of simple fabrication process and good flexibility but are inhibited by low ionic conductivity, low thermal stability, and poor oxidation resistivity. ISE have relatively high ionic conductivity and high thermal stability but very low flexibility. Given the complementary properties of SPE and ISE, there have been prior efforts to develop SPE and ISE composite electrolytes with either filler in bulk structure or ISE/SPE laminated multi-layer configuration. It has been found that SPE/ISE interface properties are key influencers of the lithium ion transfer path and conductivity. A good understanding of ISE/SPE interfaces behavior from this work will provide guidance on the design and development of solid hybrid electrolytes materials for practical LIBs application. In this project, a laminated bilayer configuration with one large interface area will be used as a model for the ISE/SPE electrolyte interface study since filler-bulk type electrolytes have too many complicated interface interactions to fulfill the purpose. Two other dominant factors that impact electrolyte performance include film thickness and film evenness. This project will utilize a unique combination of two technical fabrication processes (air-controlled electrospray and magnetron sputtering) that not only significantly lowers the electrolyte film thickness and improves film evenness, but also allows the flexibility to prepare different types of solid electrolytes based on the application?s specific need, such as directly deposited solid electrolyte on electrodes (particularly important for 3D batteries) or free-standing thin electrolyte films. Results and scientific discoveries from this project are of significant meaning for both fundamental knowledge advancement and applied technology development.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.