Polymer-Gel Electrolyte for Structural Battery Strength
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery technologies face challenges in achieving high mechanical strength and energy density, with liquid electrolytes often requiring excessive housing materials and binders, leading to inefficiencies in battery design.
Innovation Solution
Incorporation of structural monomers and oligomers in polymer electrolytes to form a polymer-gel electrolyte, which enhances mechanical properties and reduces the need for binders, resulting in improved flexural modulus and energy density.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If liquid electrolytes are used in battery design, then the battery can achieve basic electrochemical function, but excessive housing materials and binders are required, leading to reduced energy density
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the electrolyte function with structural support by using polymer-gel electrolytes that provide both electrochemical functionality and mechanical strength. This eliminates the need for separate housing materials and binders, as the polymer-gel electrolyte itself provides the necessary structural integrity while maintaining ionic conductivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The polymer-gel electrolyte serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as the ionic conductor, provides mechanical strength, and eliminates the need for separate binders and housing materials. This multi-functionality directly addresses the contradiction by reducing material quantity while maintaining or improving energy density.
2Strength
If conventional electrolyte formulations are used, then the battery structure can be simple, but mechanical strength and flexural modulus are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite polymer-gel electrolyte formulations combining multiple polymer components and additives to achieve superior mechanical properties. The composite nature of the electrolyte provides both the required flexural modulus and ionic conductivity, resolving the contradiction between strength and formulation complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes specific parameters of the polymer-gel electrolyte including glass transition temperature, crosslinking density, and polymer chain structure to achieve enhanced mechanical strength. By carefully controlling these parameters, the electrolyte formulation achieves high flexural modulus while maintaining manageable complexity.
3Strength
If more housing materials and binders are used to improve mechanical strength, then the battery structure becomes more robust, but gravimetric and volumetric energy density decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the structural support function with the electrolyte function, eliminating the need for separate housing materials and binders. The polymer-gel electrolyte provides both mechanical strength and electrochemical functionality, thereby improving gravimetric energy density by removing unnecessary mass.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and eliminates the need for separate housing materials and binders by integrating their structural support function into the polymer-gel electrolyte itself. This extraction of redundant components directly improves gravimetric energy density while maintaining mechanical strength.
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 polymer-gel electrolyte achieves up to 50 times greater flexural modulus and reduces housing material requirements, enhancing gravimetric and volumetric energy density while minimizing binder usage.
Implementation Method 1
a polymer-gel electrolyte can be formed by treating a formulation to form a polymer
Data Source
AI summary
A polymer electrolyte can be formed from (e.g., by polymerizing) a mixture that includes oligomer(s), additive(s), solvent(s), salt(s), and/or any suitable components. The polymer electrolyte can further or alternatively include monomer(s) (e.g., a stiffening monomer that in solution or incorporated into a cured polymer modifies a mechanical property such as flexural modulus of the battery cell; adhesion monomers such as a monomer that interacts with one or more surface within a battery to modify or improve adhesion of the electrolyte and the surface; etc.).