Abstract
In this study, fibrous cellulose membranes were successfully mass produced by forcespinning® cellulose acetate, followed by alkaline hydrolysis treatment. Its performance as lithium-ion battery separator was evaluated. The cellulose membrane exhibits a randomly-oriented, fully-interconnected and highly porous three-dimensional fibrous network structure with a high porosity of 76 %. The developed membranes show good electrolyte wettability and high electrolyte uptake capability. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermal treatment show a superior thermal stability of the cellulose nonwoven membrane. Compared to commercially available polypropylene based separators, the developed fibrous cellulose membrane displays higher ionic conductivity, lower interfacial resistance and better electrochemical stability. Given its outstanding thermal characteristics and excellent electrochemical performance, this fibrous cellulose membrane has potential to be used as high-performance lithium-ion battery separator. This study provides a novel and feasible pathway for developing promising separators for high-performance lithium ion batteries.
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Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by National Science Foundation under DMR Grant#0934157. This research was also partially supported by the start up funding from UT System (STAR Program).
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Disclaimer: Dr. Lozano and the University of Texas Pan American have research-related interests in Fiberio Technology Corporation.
Baicheng Weng and Fenghua Xu have contributed equally to this work.
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Weng, B., Xu, F., Alcoutlabi, M. et al. Fibrous cellulose membrane mass produced via forcespinning® for lithium-ion battery separators. Cellulose 22, 1311–1320 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-015-0564-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-015-0564-8