High Performance and Biodegradable Skeleton Material Based on Soy Protein Isolate for Gel Polymer Electrolyte

Abstract

A kind of biodegradable and well-sourced soy protein isolate (SPI)/poly­(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) composite nanofiber membranes was fabricated via electrospinning and used as skeleton material in gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) of lithium-ion batteries. This study revealed that the proper material proportion, low crystallinity, sufficient porosity and good affinity between nanofiber and the electrode/electrolyte resulted in high saturated electrolyte uptake and conservation rate of the nanofiber membranes. The GPEs based on the SPI/PVA composite nanofiber membranes presented remarkable electrochemical performance, including high ionic conductivity, excellent compatibility with lithium electrode and good electrochemical stability. An ionic conductivity of 3.8 × 10–3 S cm–1 and interfacial resistance of 250 Ω for the GPEs can be obtained when the weight ratio of SPI to PVA in the spinning solution was 3:1, which was more superior to the existing biobased GPEs. In addition, the Li/GPE/LiCoO2 cells with GPEs based on the SPI/PVA (3:1) composite nanofiber membranes displayed the excellent initial discharge capacity and cycle performance. Therefore, the environmental and economical SPI/PVA composite nanofiber membranes with the optimized material proportion can be used as a green skeleton material in GPEs for high performance lithium-ion batteries.

Proteins in Ionic Liquids: Reactions, Applications, and Futures

“…Beyond gelatine and silk, scope for developing ionic liquid-based ionogel formation with other proteins also remains (Zhu et al, 2016). Enzyme immobilization in the context of biosensors and stimuli-responsive materials, including entrapment in both ionogels and polymerisable ionic liquid matricies (Grollmisch et al, 2018), has been well-reviewed recently (Kavanagh et al, 2012; Zuliani et al, 2014; Marr and Marr, 2016; Zhang et al, 2016b).…”

A Crosslinked Soybean Protein Isolate Gel Polymer Electrolyte Based on Neutral Aqueous Electrolyte for a High-Energy-Density Supercapacitor

“…For instance, a high performance soy protein-based solid conductor with a small amount of poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) was prepared and showed an ionic conductivity of ~10 −5 S·cm −1 [26]. Zhu prepared a series of porous membranes with SPI and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) by using electrospinning technique [27]. The studies mentioned above demonstrate that SPI can be used for polymer electrolytes applied in electrochemical storage devices.…”

Construction of Polymer Electrolyte Based on Soybean Protein Isolate and Hydroxyethyl Cellulose for a Flexible Solid-State Supercapacitor

“…As a biomass material, soybean protein isolate (SPI), a byproduct of the soybean oil industry, has been applied in many fields including energy storage due to its renewability, biocompatibility, biodegradability, processability, and film-forming capacity [32], and the ionic protein containing different types of amino acids can be used to transport ions for energy storage devices [33]. Zhu et al prepared porous membranes with SPI and PVA via electrospinning as separators for lithium ion batteries [34]. A composite GPE was constructed from porous polydopamine spheres and SPI membrane to suppress Li dendrite growth and trap manganese ions for a high-performance Li battery [35].…”