“吹塑–萃取”工艺制备隔膜及其在锂离子电池中的应用

Preparation of battery separator by “blow molding molding–extraction” process for lithium-ion batteries

  • 摘要: 电池隔膜作为储能器件的关键组成部分直接影响电池的安全性与使用寿命. 现有商业化隔膜生产以干法和湿法工艺为主,干法工艺隔膜孔隙率较低,孔径分布不均匀,且仪器精度要求较高,能耗高;湿法工艺复杂且隔膜强度偏低,现有工艺及其相关核心技术及生产设备尚未自主化. 本研究提出了一种创新的“吹塑–萃取”工艺用于开发高性能聚烯烃电池隔膜. 该工艺整合了熔融混合、挤出吹塑、气体充填、纵向拉伸和冷却等多个步骤. 首先,通过调节不同组分的比例以及选择适宜的造孔剂,最终获得了63%的孔隙率和115%的吸液率. 此外,萃取工序的引入有效地创造了均匀的微孔结构,显著提升了电解质的离子传输效率,隔膜的离子传导率达到0.23 mS·cm−1. 电池表现出较高的放电比容量和良好的循环稳定性. 上述实验结果表明,“吹塑–萃取”工艺不仅提升了隔膜的整体性能,而且为电池隔膜设计开发提供了一条新的技术路径,加速新型隔膜的大规模商业化进程,为未来电池技术的发展奠定了坚实基础,推动了电化学储能领域的进一步研究与应用.

     

    Abstract: Battery separators, as the key components of energy-storage devices, are crucial for determining the safety and lifespan of batteries. Commercial separators are primarily produced via dry and wet processes. Generally, separators produced by dry processes have low porosity and a heterogeneous pore distribution, and they possess good mechanical strength owing to their tensile-oriented crystallization mechanism. Dry-processed separators are usually applied in portable electronic products with low operating voltages and small current output requirements. To their disadvantage, the dry process requires high-precision instrumentation, high-quality raw materials, and is energy-intensive, which raises the threshold of production technology. In comparison, separators produced by wet processes using thermally induced phase separation are complex to produce and have poor mechanical strength. Separators suitable for power transmission equipment require high porosity and electrolyte uptake. The development of a separator that combines the advantages of both the dry and wet processes, exhibits good mechanical properties, high porosity, uniform pore distribution, and is suitable for high-performance batteries with long lifespans, remains a significant challenge. Moreover, the key technologies and equipment for fabricating high-quality separators are not yet sustainable. Therefore, a novel process for producing high-quality separators that are readily mass-produced is urgently required. Herein, a novel "blow moldingextraction" process is introduced for the development of high-performance separators. This process effectively integrates the key steps of the dry and wet processes, including melt mixing, extrusion blow molding, gas inflation, longitudinal stretching, and cooling. The integration of the dry and wet processes can be learned from mature theories and technologies in blow-molding film and separator production, which would shorten the research cycle. More importantly, the equipment required to prepare this separator is a traditional inflation film-manufacturing machine, which is inexpensive and can realize the large-scale preparation of films. In this study, we obtained more than ten square meters of film in a single experiment. In addition, the mechanical properties of the blow-molded film were enhanced via gas-blowing-induced double-oriented crystallization. For separators prepared via a wet process, the removal of pore-forming agents from the film and solvent recycling are very mature processes. First, separators with a porosity of 63% and an excellent electrolyte uptake rate of 115% were produced by adjusting the component ratios and selecting appropriate pore-forming agents. Furthermore, the introduction of the extraction process resulted in a uniform microporous structure that significantly enhanced the ionic transport efficiency of the electrolyte to yield ionic conductivity of 0.23 mS·cm−1. The assembled batteries demonstrated high capacity and excellent cycle stability. These findings suggest that the "blow moldingextraction" process not only improves the overall performance of the separator but also provides a novel technological pathway for manufacturing high-end lithium battery separators with significant academic value and application potential. This method establishes a solid foundation for future advancements in battery technology and fosters further research and applications in the domain of electrochemical energy storage.

     

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