For the first time, electrophoretic deposition (EPD) has been employed to prepare a self-supported, inorganic membrane consisting of SiO 2 nano-fibers, as a separator for lithium-ion batteries. The SiO 2 nano-fibers that were fabricated by a lowcost force spinning technique were deposited by EPD directly onto LiNi 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 cathode material. Citric acid charging agent and anhydrous acetone solvent were used. The resulting porosity and tortuosity of the EPD SiO 2 separator were 71.42 %, and 1.70, respectively. The slightly higher tortuosity of the EPD-SiO 2 -fiber separator (60 μm) led to a lower rate capability in comparison to commercial GF/A glass fiber separator (260 μm). On the other hand, the latter exhibited lower self-discharge than the former in full-cells with a graphite anode; this is proposed to be related to the different purities of the two materials that impart different electronic properties or the presence of 20 wt % PVDF in the EPD-SiO 2 separator. Indeed, the deposited membrane has good characteristics as a battery separator and the EPD process is extremely feasible for the fabrication of miniaturized lithium-ion batteries on wafer level.[a] Dr.
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