A high-performance and environment-friendly gel polymer electrolyte for lithium ion battery based on composited lignin membrane

Abstract

A biodegradable composite polymer membrane is fabricated by synthesizing polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) on the matrix of lignin, and then the corresponding gel polymer electrolyte (LP-GPE) is further prepared by absorbing the liquid electrolyte. The morphology, mechanical property, and thermal stability of the composite lignin-PVP membrane and the electrochemical properties of LP-GPE are investigated. The results of the investigation present that the mechanical property of the membrane is remarkable improved (670%) and the composite membrane exhibits a better thermal security. For electrochemical properties, a high ionic conductivity of 2.52 × 10−3 S cm−1 at room temperature, excellent lithium-ion transference number of 0.56, and outstanding electrochemical stability of LP-GPE are confirmed. Moreover, the C-rate performance and capacity retention based on Li/LP-GPE/LiFePO4 cell are superior to that of the commercial Celgard 2730 cell. Consequently, all these results demonstrate that LP-GPE can be applied as a novel electrolyte for lithium ion battery with high-performance, low-cost, and environment-friendly properties.