HIGH CATION MOBILITY LITHIUM POLYMER BATTERIES

TO COMMERCIALIZE HIGH ENERGY DENSITY, RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM (LI) POLYMER ELECTROLYTE-BASED BATTERIES, TWO PROBLEMS MUST BE SOLVED: (1) THE OPTIMIZATION OF THE CHARGE AND MASS TRANSFER PROPERTIES AT THE LI/ELECTROLYTE INTERFACE (OR THE LITHIUM CARBON COMPOSITE/ELECTROLYTE INTERFACE IN THE CASE OF A LITHIUM-ION CELL DESIGN); AND (2) THE CONCURRENT MAXIMIZATION OF LITHIUM-ION MOBILITY ALONG WITH THE IMMOBILIZATION OF THE ANION. A CAREFUL ANALYSIS OF THE PREVIOUS WORK IN THIS AREA SUGGESTS THE CAUSES FOR THE SUBOPTIMAL PERFORMANCE OF EARLIER MATERIALS AND POINTS THE WAY TO AN OPTIMIZED DESIGN. THIS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ADDRESSES KEY ISSUES IN A NEW WAY THROUGH THE CONCURRENT APPLICATION OF OPTIMIZED PRINCIPLES OF ION-PAIRING, SOLVATION, AND GUEST/HOST CHEMISTRY. THE SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE PRINCIPLES WILL RESULT IN CELLS WITH IMPROVED PERFORMANCE, PARTICULARLY WITH REGARD TO RATE CAPABILITY. THE PHASE I RESEARCH IS PREPARING AND EVALUATING NOVEL POLYMER MATERIALS WITH NEWLY DEVELOPED LITHIUM SOLUTES FOR IMPROVED CONDUCTIVITY AND PERFORMANCE.