Autonomous Strategies for Improved Performance and Reliability of Li‐Ion Batteries

Abstract

The battery community has devoted significant effort to improve the performance and reliability of Li‐ion batteries through the development of new materials. The integration of autonomous function provides an alternative strategy to further extend performance. Autonomous material systems mimic the ability of biological systems to self‐protect, sense, regulate, and heal in response to damage and other environmental changes. When incorporated in batteries, these materials enable autonomic restoration of battery performance upon degradation, as well as autonomic shutdown or extinguishment in response to thermal runaway. Successful strategies for improving Li‐ion battery performance include controlled release of microencapsulated functional additives and the integration of self‐healing or adaptive interlayers and binders. These methods have been effective for stabilizing the solid electrolyte interface, preventing battery fires, restoring electrode conductivity, and suppressing Li dendrite growth. Challenges and opportunities exist in the further application of autonomous strategies in the battery environment. A greater variety of encapsulated additives with precise triggered‐release are needed to address specific battery degradation mechanisms. Incorporation of self‐healing polymers in solid‐state batteries facilitates improvement in interfacial and mechanical stability. The integration of autonomous strategies with battery management systems potentially enables enhanced control over multiple battery cycling parameters.

Implications of the BATTERY 2030+ AI‐Assisted Toolkit on Future Low‐TRL Battery Discoveries and Chemistries

“…Degradation of inactive components, such as corrosion of current collectors, degradation of binder, decomposition of conductive additives, and loss of integration in the separator, should be considered in the engineering step of battery cells. [ 108–111 ]…”

“…Degradation of inactive components, such as corrosion of current collectors, degradation of binder, decomposition of conductive additives, and loss of integration in the separator, should be considered in the engineering step of battery cells. [108][109][110][111] The detection of irreversible changes is a first step toward obtaining better reliability and increasing the lifetime and consequently the overall quality of the battery. Hence, accurate states must be obtained to prevent extra degradation of the cells, inefficient operation outside the safe-operation area, or worst-case scenarios of thermal runaways.…”

Selbstheilende Polymere – auch rezyklierbar

“…Das Einbringen von selbstheilenden Polymeren in die Festphasen-Elektrolyte kann ihre mechanische sowie die Grenzflächen-Stabilität deutlich erhöhen und eine verbesserte Kontrolle und Steigerung der Anzahl der Lade/Entlade-Zyklen ermöglichen, also die Lebensdauer der Batterie verlängern. In Abbildung 6 sind die verschiedene "Einsatzmöglichkeiten" für einen selbstheilenden Festphasen-Elektrolyten in der Batterie schematisch dargestellt: von der klassischen Reparatur der entstandenen Risse, über Stabilisierung der Grenzfläche, Dendrit-Unterdrückung bis zur Kompensation von Volumenänderungen an der Anode (oder Kathode) [26,27].…”

Functional Electrolytes: Game Changers for Smart Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices

“…In this respect, considerable efforts have been devoted to developing smart EES devices with versatile functionalities, which are realized by delicately using functional electrodes, functional electrolytes, or functional current collectors. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] The designed smart functionalities in EES devices can spontaneously detect abnormalities at an early stage and trigger implementation of self-protection or self-adaptation. Among the various strategies for assembling smart EES devices, the integration of functional electrolytes into EES devices represents the most commonly used approach, as the electrolytes lie in the middle of EES devices and have easy access to all device components.…”

“…Thus far, a variety of functional electrolytes have been reported for smart EES devices, showing sensitive response to various internal or external stimuli, such as temperature, mechanical deformation, voltage, light, magnetism, and structural integrity (Figure 1). [12][13][14][15][16][17][18] These smart electrolytes bestow fantastic capabilities on EES devices such as self-protection, self-power, performance improvement, prevention of electrolyte leakage, electrochromism, and self-healing.…”