Gas Sensing Technology for the Detection and Early Warning of Battery Thermal Runaway: A Review

Abstract

With the increasing popularity of battery technology, the safety problems caused by the thermal runaway of batteries have been paid more attention. Detecting the gases released from battery thermal runaway by gas sensors is one of the effective strategies to realize the early safety warning of batteries. The inducing factors of battery thermal runaway as well as the types and mechanisms of the gases generated at each reaction stage are first reviewed. According to the amount and starting time of gas release, five gases suitable for early detection of battery thermal runaway are mainly introduced, including hydrogen (H 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), ethylene (C 2 H 4 ), and methane (CH 4 ). The application prospects of various gas-sensing technologies in the detection and early warning of battery thermal runaway are further evaluated. Benefiting from the superiorities of small size, high sensitivity, and stable performance, the resistive gas sensors are considered as promising candidates in this field, and their sensing mechanisms are also described in this review. In addition, the applicability and optimization strategies of gas sensors for the detection and early warning of battery thermal runaway are further reviewed systematically, on the basis of various aspects including sensing material, material design, sensing performance, etc. Finally, the potential directions and key points for the future development of gas sensors in the detection and early warning of battery thermal runaway are proposed.

Thermal Behavior of Lithium- and Sodium-Ion Batteries: A Review on Heat Generation, Battery Degradation, Thermal Runway – Perspective and Future Directions

“…This would be instrumental in detecting gas evolution in the SEI decomposition stage itself, which is the mechanism by which TR initiates in most cases. There is a review article by Wang et al 13 exclusively dedicated to identifying TR using gas-sensing technologies in Li-ion batteries.…”

“…169 It is also evolved in the reaction of the electrolyte with the oxygen released from cathode decomposition reactions when the temperature exceeds 200 °C (eqs 4.3 and 4.4). The binder, for example, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), will also react with Li to generate LiF and H 2 , 13 as shown in eq 4.5. For more details on the reactions, the readers are referred to the works by Gulubkov et al 170 and Wang et al 13 A nondispersive infrared (NDIR) based CO 2 sensor was used by Cai et al 171 to detect TR.…”

“…Wang et al 13 gas-sensing technology for TR detection 2022 from each other by a separator, and an electrolyte that enables the transport of ions. The electrolyte is typically a lithium or sodium salt (depending on the case) dissolved in a solvent.…”

Advances in functional guest materials for resistive gas sensors

“…[15][16][17] Among them, the resistive gas sensor exhibits attractive advantages, including higher sensitivity, faster response/recovery times, greater stability/repeatability, ease of operation and integration into portable devices. [18][19][20] Based on these advantages, the resistive gas sensor has been widely studied and occupies a large market share. 21 At present, resistive gas sensors with various types of metal oxide semiconductors (MOSs, e.g., SnO 2 , 22 ZnO (ref.…”

“…9,82 TMDs are layered graphene-like materials and their sensing mechanism is similar to the intra-carbon-sensing mechanism, mainly based on the direct interaction between target analytes and sensing materials. 20,26,83 TMDs with excellent electronic, optical, and catalytic properties can realize a roomtemperature gas sensing response. 13 However, their adjacent layers are connected by weak intermolecular forces, leading to the special aggregation and self-stacking effects, hence reducing the permeability and surface active sites of TMDs.…”