Solid Electrolyte Composition for Fast Electrode-Compatible Curing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ionogel electrolytes in lithium-ion batteries face challenges in achieving good ionic conductivity, manufacturability, and compatibility with battery components due to issues such as low ionic conductivity, lengthy solidification times, and incompatibility with electrodes, limiting their commercial viability.
Innovation Solution
A solution comprising functionalized silicon oxide particles with organic moieties and a radical initiator is used to form a solid electrolyte, allowing rapid solidification within minutes without the need for acids or bases, ensuring compatibility with battery components and maintaining high ionic conductivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ionogel electrolytes are formed using conventional methods with acids or bases, then solidification can occur, but the process is incompatible with battery electrodes and takes too long
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the solidification process by using radical initiators instead of acids or bases. This allows the electrolyte to solidify without exposing battery electrodes to harmful substances, resolving the compatibility issue while maintaining reasonable solidification times through controlled radical polymerization
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the chemical mechanism (acid-base catalysis) with a different chemical mechanism (radical polymerization). This substitution eliminates the harmful effects of acids and bases on battery electrodes while achieving solidification through a alternative chemical pathway that is compatible with electrode materials
2Quantity of substance
If solid electrolytes are made very thin to increase energy density, then energy density increases, but manufacturing precision and control become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by forming a coating on the battery electrode before final assembly. The coating is applied as a liquid or paste that can be precisely controlled in thickness, then solidifies in place. This approach allows for better thickness control compared to making free-standing thin electrolyte membranes, enabling energy densities above 800 Wh/L while maintaining manufacturing feasibility
3Stability of the object's composition
If ionic liquid is incorporated into polymeric matrix, then solid electrolyte structure is formed, but ionic conductivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses composite materials by combining ionic liquid with inorganic particles (such as silica, alumina, or titania) rather than polymeric matrices. This composite structure provides both the solid form needed for safety and structural stability, and maintains high ionic conductivity through the ionic liquid phases and interfacial regions between particles
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs porous inorganic materials as the solid matrix structure. These porous materials provide high surface area and interconnected pathways that facilitate ion transport while maintaining structural integrity. The porosity allows sufficient ionic liquid to be incorporated, preserving high ionic conductivity while achieving the solid electrolyte 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 solution enables the formation of a solid electrolyte with good manufacturability, compatibility with battery components, and high ionic conductivity, suitable for continuous production processes.
Implementation Method 1
converting the radical initiator into radical species
Implementation Method 2
forming a covalent bond by reaction with another identical linkable functional group
Implementation Method 3
forming an interconnected oxide matrix... a continuous surface, forming undisrupted paths for lithium ion conduction
Implementation Method 4
an electrolyte compound... comprising dissolved lithium salts
Data Source
AI summary
A solution for forming a solid electrolyte, includes: a plurality of silicon oxide particles dissolved in a liquid medium. The silicon oxide particles are functionalized with organic moieties including: at least four non-hydrogen atoms, of which one atom is covalently bonded to a silicon atom of the silicon oxide particles, and a linkable functional group capable, after activation by a radical species, of forming a covalent bond by reaction with another identical linkable functional group. The organic moiety has at least two atoms, not part of the linkable functional group, that are bonded by a x bond to each other. A ratio of the number of the organic moieties to the number of silicon atoms comprised in the plurality of silicon oxide particles is at least 0.3, and an electrolyte compound.