Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, ‡Department of Chemistry, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Hefei Science Center of CAS, §Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China , 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China.
Nano Lett. 2017 Aug 9;17(8):4894-4901. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b01875. Epub 2017 Jul 13.
Separators, necessary components to isolate cathodes and anodes in Li/Na-ion batteries, are consumed in large amounts per year; thus, their sustainability is a concerning issue for renewable energy storage systems. However, the eco-efficient and environmentally friendly fabrication of separators with a high mechanical strength, excellent thermal stability, and good electrolyte wettability is still challenging. Herein, we reported the fabrication of a new type of separators for Li/Na-ion batteries through the self-assembly of eco-friendly chitin nanofibers derived from prawn shells. We demonstrated that the pore size in the chitin nanofiber membrane (CNM) separator can be tuned by adjusting the amount of pore generation agent (sodium dihydrogen citrate) in the self-assembly process of chitin nanofibers. By optimizing the pore size in CNM separators, the electrochemical performance of the LiFePO/Li half-cell with a CNM separator is comparable to that with a commercialized polypropylene (PP) separator. More attractively, the CNM separator showed a much better performance in the LiFePO/Li cell at 120 °C and NaV(PO)/Na cell than the PP separator. The proposed fabrication of separators by using natural raw materials will play a significant contribution to the sustainable development of renewable energy storage systems.
隔板是锂离子电池和钠离子电池中用于隔离正负极的必要组件，每年的消耗量都很大，因此，其可持续性是可再生能源存储系统关注的问题。然而，具有高机械强度、优异的热稳定性和良好的电解质润湿性的隔板的生态高效和环保制造仍然具有挑战性。在此，我们通过自组装由虾壳衍生的环保甲壳素纳米纤维，报告了一种用于锂离子电池和钠离子电池的新型隔板的制造方法。我们证明了通过调整甲壳素纳米纤维自组装过程中的造孔剂（柠檬酸二氢钠）的用量，可以调节甲壳素纳米纤维膜（CNM）隔板的孔径。通过优化 CNM 隔板的孔径，具有 CNM 隔板的 LiFePO/Li 半电池的电化学性能可与商业化的聚丙烯（PP）隔板相媲美。更具吸引力的是，与 PP 隔板相比，CNM 隔板在 120°C 的 LiFePO/Li 电池和 NaV(PO)/Na 电池中表现出更好的性能。使用天然原料制造隔板的方法将为可再生能源存储系统的可持续发展做出重大贡献。
