Tailoring the pore size of polyphenylene sulfide nonwoven with bacterial cellulose (BC) for heat-resistant and high-wettability separator in lithium-ion battery

• Published in: Composites communications Vol. 24; p. 100659
• Main Authors: Zhu, Changqing, Zhang, Jingxi, Qiu, Siying, Jia, Yingbin, Wang, Luoxin, Wang, Hua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2021
• Subjects: Bacterial cellulose; Lithium-ion battery separator; Papermaking method; Polyphenylene sulfide nonwoven; Bacterial cellulose; Polyphenylene sulfide nonwoven; Lithium-ion battery separator; Papermaking method
• ISSN: 2452-2139; 2452-2139
• DOI: 10.1016/j.coco.2021.100659

Separator, a key component in lithium ion batteries (LIBs), is directly related to the cell performance and safety. So far, the widely used polyolefin separator has the defects of inferior electrolyte wettability, weak thermal tolerance and complex preparation process. Herein, we reported a new composite separator for lithium-ion battery through a facile papermaking method by employing the heat-resistant polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) fibers and the bacterial cellulose (BC) nanofibers (BC/PPS for short). Specifically, the BC nanofibers were used to regulate the pore size of the composite membrane. It was demonstrated that the hybrid BC/PPS separator showed remarkable thermal stability, good electrolyte wettability and prominent ionic conductivity. These advantages endow the cells using the composite separator with much better rate capability and more stable cycling performance than the cells with commercial separator. Therefore, the BC/PPS composite membrane reported here will plays a significant contribution to the development of separator for high power LIBs. •A novel BC/PPS separator is first prepared through papermaking method.•BC/PPS separator possesses cross-linked 3D network structure.•BC/PPS separator exhibits superior electrolyte affinity and thermal stability.•This composite separator displays good electrochemical performance.•Cells with BC/PPS separator show excellent rate and cycling performance.