The development of next-generation energy storage devices and systems relies on materials with significantly improved performance, lower cost and better safety. Reliable and high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are highly desirable for consumer electronics, electrical vehicles (EVs), and grid energy storage. While the energy density, power density and cycling life of LIBs have been significantly improved in the past two decades, battery safety remains an important and unresolved issue. I will talk about a reversible thermo-responsive polymer switching material that can be incorporated inside batteries to prevent thermal runaway. The polymer composite films show high electrical conductivity (σ) of up to 300 S cm-1 at room temperature. Importantly, the σ decreases in &lt; 1 sec by 7~8 orders of magnitude upon reaching transition temperature and spontaneously recovers at room temperature. Batteries with this self-regulating material built in the electrode can rapidly shut down under abnormal conditions (e.g. overheating, shorting), and is able to resume normal function without performance compromise or detrimental thermal runaway. Our approach offers 103~104 times higher sensitivity towards temperature changes than previous switching devices, and hence, provides a simple yet effective strategy to achieve high battery safety.

Materials design for batteries with improved safety

256th National Meeting (2018)

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