Epoxy-Amine Ionic Liquid Gel Electrolyte for Battery Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Lithium-ion batteries with liquid electrolytes face safety concerns due to flammability and limited thermal stability, restricting their use in electric vehicles, while traditional polymer gels have poor thermal stability and operational range limitations.
Innovation Solution
A chemically gelled curable composition combining epoxy-amine resins with ionic liquids, offering improved thermal stability, ionic conductivity, and mechanical strength, suitable for use as electrolytes in lithium-ion batteries and other energy storage systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If liquid electrolytes based on alkyl carbonates are used in lithium-ion batteries, then ionic conductivity is improved, but safety deteriorates due to flammability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines ionic liquids with polymer matrices (such as polyethylene oxide, polyacrylonitrile, or carboxymethyl cellulose) to create composite gel electrolytes. This composite structure integrates the high ionic conductivity of ionic liquids with the safety and structural stability of polymers, eliminating flammability while maintaining electrochemical performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical and chemical parameters of the electrolyte system by using ionic liquids with specific properties (low melting point, high thermal stability) and controlling their concentration (10-90 wt%) in the polymer matrix. This parameter optimization achieves both safety and ionic conductivity requirements.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional organic solvents are used in polymer gels, then ease of manufacture is improved, but thermal stability deteriorates above 200°C
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional organic solvents with ionic liquids that have fundamentally different thermal parameters (decomposition temperature above 200°C, negligible vapor pressure). This parameter change maintains ease of manufacture through simple mixing while dramatically improving thermal stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses ionic liquids as replaceable plasticizing agents in the polymer gel system, allowing the gel to be manufactured through simple mixing processes similar to traditional solvent-based systems, while the ionic liquid's inherent thermal stability provides the required high-temperature performance.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If polymer gels are used as electrolytes to improve safety, then flammability is reduced, but operational range deteriorates with temperature restrictions above 60°C
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates composite gel electrolytes where ionic liquids serve as both the plasticizing agent and the source of ionic conductivity. This composite structure enables the gel to operate safely at low temperatures (maintaining flexibility and ion transport) while withstanding high temperatures (above 200°C) without decomposition or loss of structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the concentration of ionic liquids (10-90 wt%) in the polymer matrix to achieve a balance between mechanical properties at low temperature and thermal stability at high temperature, thereby expanding the operational temperature range from 60°C to above 200°C while maintaining safety.
4Reliability
If ionic conductivity is increased in electrolytes, then energy storage performance is improved, but thermal stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses ionic liquids as the conducting medium within a polymer gel matrix, creating a composite where the ionic liquid provides high ionic conductivity (comparable to liquid electrolytes) while the polymer network provides thermal stability and structural support, preventing decomposition at high temperatures.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The composition provides enhanced safety, operational flexibility, and thermal stability, enabling the use of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles under various conditions, including extreme temperatures.
Implementation Method 1
chemically gelled curable composition comprising at least one organic compound of the epoxy type having a functionality greater than 1, at least one amine
Implementation Method 2
at least one ionic liquid... having good ionic conductivity
Implementation Method 3
chemically gelled curable composition... resulting from the reaction of a compound A comprising an amine group and a compound B comprising an epoxy function
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a chemically gelled curable composition based on epoxy-amine resins and on ionic liquids. The invention advantageously applies to energy accumulating systems, in particular electrochemical systems. The curable composition according to the invention may in particular constitute an electrolyte that can be used in a battery for a hybrid or electric vehicle.