title: Preparation of novel carbon microfiber/carbon nanofiber-dispersed polyvinyl alcohol-based nanocomposite material for lithium-ion electrolyte battery separator.
abstract: A novel nanocomposite polyvinyl alcohol precursor-based material dispersed with the web of carbon microfibers and carbon nanofibers is developed as lithium (Li)-ion electrolyte battery separator. The primary synthesis steps of the separator material consist of esterification of polyvinyl acetate to produce polyvinyl alcohol gel, ball-milling of the surfactant dispersed carbon micro-nanofibers, mixing of the milled micron size (~500 nm) fibers to the reactant mixture at the incipience of the polyvinyl alcohol gel formation, and the mixing of hydrophobic reagents along with polyethylene glycol as a plasticizer, to produce a thin film of ~25 μm. The produced film, uniformly dispersed with carbon micro-nanofibers, has dramatically improved performance as a battery separator, with the ion conductivity of the electrolytes (LiPF6) saturated film measured as 0.119 S-cm(-1), approximately two orders of magnitude higher than that of polyvinyl alcohol. The other primary characteristics of the produced film, such as tensile strength, contact angle, and thermal stability, are also found to be superior to the materials made of other precursors, including polypropylene and polyethylene, discussed in the literature. The method of producing the films in this study is novel, simple, environmentally benign, and economically viable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, India.
authors.forename: Ajit K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Prateek
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Khare
authors.forename: Jayant K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Nishith
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Verma
mesh_terms: D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004573:Electrolytes / Q000737:chemistry*; D007477:Ions; D008094:Lithium / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D000432:Methanol / Q000737:chemistry; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D012967:Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate / Q000737:chemistry; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013499:Surface Properties; D013718:Tensile Strength
chemical_list: D004573:Electrolytes; D007477:Ions; D012967:Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate; D002244:Carbon; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol; D008094:Lithium; D000432:Methanol
keywords: Carbon micro-nanofibers; Ionic conductivity; Li-ion battery separator; Polyvinyl alcohol; Suspension polymerization