Nanoporous block polymer separators for high performance and safe Li-ion batteries

To meet Navy needs for high performance and safe lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries for naval aircraft, ADA Technologies Inc. (ADA) and its university collaborator propose to develop and optimize tailor designed nanoporous separators derived from functionalized block copolymers (polyolefins) with low cost precursors. The innovative strategy provides a powerful tool to allow exquisite tuning of performance and safety features of the nanostructured separator to meet Navys requirement for next generation Li-ion batteries for Navy aircraft applications. The proposed nanoporous separator innovation is based on prior development efforts which demonstrated promising physical and safety features of block polymer derived nanoporous separators that have uniformly distributed nanopores, robust mechanical properties, and exquisite tenability for separator thicknesses, pore size, porosity, melting point, tensile strength, and wettability dictated by the block polymer composition and functional side chains or branches. Most notably, the nanoporous separators exhibited the appealing chemical and thermal stability demonstrated by the exemplary, perfectly linear polyethylene (LPE) based separator materials.