Porous Ceramic Membrane Sealing for Lithium-Seawater Anode Pouches
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Solution Overview
Problem
The bond between a solid ceramic electrolyte membrane and a flexible, multilayer laminate film in lithium-seawater batteries deteriorates over long-term exposure to seawater, leading to water intrusion and anode failure.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the creation of a porous ceramic lithium ion conducting membrane with spherical pores, which is adhered to an annular laminate face ring using a hot-melt adhesive, forming mechanical anchors that enhance the bond strength and durability by providing a hermetic seal resistant to seawater.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional non-porous ceramic membrane is used, then the membrane provides good chemical stability, but the adhesive bond between the ceramic membrane and laminate face ring deteriorates over time in seawater
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies porous materials by incorporating a porous layer into the ceramic membrane structure. This porous layer allows adhesive to penetrate and form mechanical interlocking anchors, significantly improving adhesive bond durability. The porous structure enables the adhesive to anchor firmly within the ceramic membrane, preventing bond deterioration during long-term seawater exposure while maintaining the membrane's chemical stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials by combining porous and non-porous ceramic layers in a multi-layered membrane structure. The composite design integrates a porous layer for adhesive anchoring with a non-porous layer for chemical stability and ion conductivity. This composite approach resolves the contradiction by allowing the adhesive to bond strongly to the porous layer while the overall membrane maintains its protective functions.
2Strength
If the ceramic membrane surface is made smooth and non-porous, then the membrane maintains chemical stability, but the adhesive cannot form strong mechanical anchors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies porous materials by incorporating a porous layer into the ceramic membrane structure. This porous layer allows adhesive to penetrate and form mechanical interlocking anchors, significantly improving adhesive bond durability. The porous structure enables the adhesive to anchor firmly within the ceramic membrane, preventing bond deterioration during long-term seawater exposure while maintaining the membrane's chemical stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the ceramic membrane into distinct functional layers: a porous layer for adhesive bonding and a non-porous layer for chemical stability and ion conductivity. This segmentation allows each layer to optimize its specific function without compromising the other, enabling strong adhesive bonds while maintaining membrane integrity.
3Reliability
If a porous layer is added to the ceramic membrane for adhesive anchoring, then the bond strength increases, but the membrane structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies porous materials by incorporating a porous layer into the ceramic membrane structure. This porous layer allows adhesive to penetrate and form mechanical interlocking anchors, significantly improving adhesive bond durability. The porous structure enables the adhesive to anchor firmly within the ceramic membrane, preventing bond deterioration during long-term seawater exposure while maintaining the membrane's chemical stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by controlling the porosity, pore size, and thickness of the porous layer to optimize adhesive anchoring while minimizing structural complexity. By carefully adjusting these parameters, the membrane achieves strong bond durability in seawater without excessive complexity in the overall structure.
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 method significantly increases the adhesive strength and durability of the bond, preventing water intrusion and maintaining the integrity of the anode pouch, thus extending the service life of lithium-seawater batteries.
Implementation Method 1
The adhesive fills the pores and provides mechanical anchors
Implementation Method 2
Polyethylene microballoons are added into the liquid slurry... The porous green tape is laminated onto the top of nonporous green tapes to form a stack. The stack is compressed and then sintered
Data Source
AI summary
A method is provided for making a ceramic lithium ion conducting membrane and for making an anode pouch for a lithium-seawater battery. The method for making the ceramic membrane includes adding pore formers into a liquid slurry of LTAP (Li2O—Al2O3—SiO2—P2O5—TiO2) powder. The liquid slurry is converted into porous green tape and the porous green tape is laminated onto the top of nonporous green tapes to form a stack. The stack is sintered and the pore formers are decomposed to create pores in the top layer of the ceramic membrane. The porous ceramic membrane is used to create a more robust hermetic seal in an anode pouch for the battery compared to a seal made with a nonporous ceramic membrane.