TAGS: Electrical & Electronics High Heat Materials
New Energy Solutions
Toray Industries has created a non-porous separator for lithium-ion batteries, that could dramatically increase capacity by enhancing safety of lithium metal anode batteries, notably in wearable electronic devices, drones, and electric vehicles.
Reducing Safety Concerns in Lithium Metal Anode
Lithium dendrites form on lithium metal surfaces during charging, penetrating separators and causing short circuits that deteriorate safety. To reduce dendrite formation, elimination of separator pores is necessary but while maintaining ion conductivity.
Safety requirements become more serious in the case of lithium metal anode due to greater capacity therefore, necessitating higher heat resistance and thermal stability of separators.
Ion-conducting Polymer to Suppress Dendrite Formation
To overcome these challenges Toray has utilized a
high heat resistance aramid polymer molecular design technology that it amassed over the years to control the gaps between molecular chains and the affinity to lithium ions. It thereby created a highly ion-conductive polymer with outstanding heat resistance. The company was able to suppress dendrite formation in lithium metal anode batteries while keeping ion conductivity by employing this polymer as a non-porous separator comprising a pore-free layer onto a microporous separator.
Toray shows that a battery with such a separator suppressed short circuits attributable to dendrites and maintained more than 80% of its capacity after 100 charge/discharge cycles. It will accelerate research and development to swiftly establish technologies with lithium metal anodes batteries so it can drive ultra-high capacity and safety for tomorrow’s lithium-ion batteries.
Source: Toray