Poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene): An Emerging Host Material for Ion Conducting Gel Polymer Electrolyte-Cum-Separator Membrane

Abstract

Secondary batteries based on ion conduction are among the most promising technology for next generation mobile and stationary storage system due to their unmatched volumetric energy density. However the multiple emerging challenges which include electrochemical stability, transport efficiency and safety issues of these secondary batteries have attracted worldwide attention. The perspective of this review is that rational design of polymeric separator which is an essential component in rechargeable batteries separating anode and cathode, and controlling number of mobile ions is crucial to overall battery performance, including lifetime, safety as well as energy and power density of battery. There is impressive progress in the exploration of separator materials. Among them, poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) P(VdF-co-HFP) have received great attention as polymer host due to some its splendid collective property such as its amorphous nature, high room temperature ionic conductivity, high dielectric constant and the possibility of controlling the porosity of the materials through binary and ternary polymer/solvent systems. This review focuses specifically on recent advances in P(VdF-co-HFP) based separator cum gel polymer electrolyte with detailed analysis of several embedded functional agent that are incorporated to improve ionic conductivity, mechanical robustness and thermal stability of rechargeable batteries.