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Research Article

Fast thermal responsive separators toward long-life and safe lithium metal batteries

Pingan Li, Zhifang Liu, Yitong Peng, Shanshan Yang, Tao Meng, Yunhuan Hu, Yingjun Jiang, Hao Sun, Qi Li, Xianluo Hu( )
State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die and Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
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Graphical Abstract

A fast thermal responsive separator comprising an electrospun membrane based on a phase change material and a thermally conductive modification layer of hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets is fabricated. Such a unique integration of heat-conduction and heat-storage separators demonstrates effective mitigation of hotspots and inhibition of lithium dendrite growth within lithium metal batteries, thus enhancing battery safety and cycle life.

Abstract

Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) have been extensively investigated during the past decades because of their ultrahigh energy densities. With the increasing demand for energy density, however, the safety issue of LMBs has become a significant challenge. In particular, localized areas of increased temperature (namely, hotspots) may be induced and even exacerbated within LMBs by uneven current distribution, internal short circuits, or inadequate heat dissipation, which significantly sacrifices battery safety and cycle life. Here, we report the rational design and fabrication of a fast thermal responsive separator capable of inhibiting the growth of lithium dendrites and mitigating thermal propagation, thereby reducing the risk of thermal runaway. The as-achieved separator comprises both an electrospun membrane using a phase change material with superior thermal-storage ability and a thermally conductive modification layer of hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets with a fast heat-transfer feature. It is demonstrated that such a unique integration of heat conduction and heat storage enables the functional separator with attractive abilities to mitigate hotspots and inhibit the growth of lithium dendrites upon the cycling of LMBs. Moreover, pouch cells with the thermal-responsive separator, as well as numerical simulations, verify much enhanced safety and cycle life of LMBs. This work may offer a new conceptual design of intelligent separators that acts as a functional unit encapsulated within a single cell to boost in-situ thermal management, which will help to develop high-safety and energy-dense LMBs.

Keywords

lithium metal batteriesseparatorshotspotssafetythermal management

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Nano Research
Volume 17 Issue 4,
April 2024
Pages 2746-2754
DOI: 10.1007/s12274-023-6179-8
Cite this article:
Li P, Liu Z, Peng Y, et al. Fast thermal responsive separators toward long-life and safe lithium metal batteries. Nano Research, 2024, 17(4): 2746-2754. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-6179-8
Topics:
Lithium batteries

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Received: 30 July 2023
Revised: 04 September 2023
Accepted: 07 September 2023
Published: 12 October 2023
© Tsinghua University Press 2023
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