(Invited) 3D Printing of Polymer Composite Electrolytes for Li Batteries

Abstract

Polymer-based batteries offer new opportunities to transform the traditional manufacturing of Li ion batteries. This presentation provides an overview on efforts in the PI's lab to manufacture thermally safe and high energy density batteries using 3D printing techniques. In the first part of this presentation, I will showcase our 3D printing work for PVDF-based polymer electrolytes reinforced with TiO2 nanoparticles. We utilized elevated temperature printing technique to avoid the use of solvents that are often detrimental to the final printed structures due to the need for their evaporation resulting in shrinkage and structural collapse. We controlled the mechanical properties and shear properties of our electrolytes by controlling the concentration of TiO2 and use of ionic liquids to achieve 3D printing. The printed electrolyte make strong adhesion with the electrode material evidenced by low interfacial resistance across the electrode-electrolyte interface. The printed full batteries demonstrated successful cycling indicating of their potential for high cycle applications. In addition, we developed PEO-based polymer electrolytes reinforced with 2D materials in order to control the rheological properties of the ink electrolyte. The printed structures showed better thermal management indicating that the alignment of 2D materials can be an effective approach to control the printing of polymer batteries.