Multifactorial engineering of biomimetic membranes for batteries with multiple high-performance parameters

Abstract

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries have a high specific capacity, but lithium polysulfide (LPS) diffusion and lithium dendrite growth drastically reduce their cycle life. High discharge rates also necessitate their resilience to high temperature. Here we show that biomimetic self-assembled membranes from aramid nanofibers (ANFs) address these challenges. Replicating the fibrous structure of cartilage, multifactorial engineering of ion-selective mechanical, and thermal properties becomes possible. LPS adsorption on ANF surface creates a layer of negative charge on nanoscale pores blocking LPS transport. The batteries using cartilage-like bioinspired ANF membranes exhibited a close-to-theoretical-maximum capacity of 1268 mAh g−1, up to 3500+ cycle life, and up to 3C discharge rates. Essential for safety, the high thermal resilience of ANFs enables operation at temperatures up to 80 °C. The simplicity of synthesis and recyclability of ANFs open the door for engineering high-performance materials for numerous energy technologies.

Flexible Freestanding Thin Polyethylene Oxide‐Based Film as Artificial Solid–Electrolyte Interface to Protect Lithium Metal in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

“…At higher mass loading and C‐rate, the performance of LSB is known to become considerably worse. [ 62 ] In this work, a standard sulfur electrode with moderate mass loading of 3 mg S cm − 2 is used, and even at a low C‐rate of 0.1 C, the formation of dendrites is still possible. The voltage‐time and CE data of the Li‐metal electrodes protected by a PEO (Figure S11, Supporting Information) and a PEO‐SiO 2 (Figure S12, Supporting Information) thin film constantly decrease and show similar performance to the reference.…”

Recent Advances in Self-Assembly and Application of Para-Aramids

“…The preparation process of PANF paper is quite simple and has already been industrialized. With the rapid development of lithium-ion batteries, recent studies have found that two-dimensional para-aramid paper (film) materials are also expected to be used in the new energy area [60][61][62][63]. Li et al [64] prepared the PANF separator by vacuum-assisted self-assembly technology and evaluated it comprehensively according to the requirements of a lithium-ion battery separator.…”

Core–shell polyoxometalate-based zeolite imidazole framework-derived multi-interfacial MoSe2/CoSe2@NC enabling multi-functional polysulfide anchoring and conversion in lithium–sulfur batteries

“…Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are commonly viewed as the preferred alternatives for next-generation high-energy-density storage technologies due to the high theoretical specic capacity (1675 mA h g −1 ), high theoretical energy density (2600 W h kg −1 ), and the natural abundance and environmental friendliness of sulfur. [1][2][3][4][5] However, the commercialization of LSBs has so far been hampered by a multitude of obstacles. Throughout the charging and discharging process, sulfur needs to repeatedly go through the cycle of S 8lithium polysuldes (LiPSs, Li 2 S x , x = 4-8) -Li 2 S, which is really complex and involves the multiphase conversion of solid-liquid-solid process.…”