title: Functionalized Nanocellulose-Integrated Heterolayered Nanomats toward Smart Battery Separators.
abstract: Alternative materials obtained from natural resources have recently garnered considerable attention as an innovative solution to bring unprecedented advances in various energy storage systems. Here, we present a new class of heterolayered nanomat-based hierarchical/asymmetric porous membrane with synergistically coupled chemical activity as a nanocellulose-mediated green material strategy to develop smart battery separator membranes far beyond their current state-of-the-art counterparts. This membrane consists of a terpyridine (TPY)-functionalized cellulose nanofibril (CNF) nanoporous thin mat as the top layer and an electrospun polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) macroporous thick mat as the support layer. The hierarchical/asymmetric porous structure of the heterolayered nanomat is rationally designed with consideration of the trade-off between leakage current and ion transport rate. The TPY (to chelate Mn(2+) ions) and PVP (to capture hydrofluoric acid)-mediated chemical functionalities bring a synergistic coupling in suppressing Mn(2+)-induced adverse effects, eventually enabling a substantial improvement in the high-temperature cycling performance of cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering and ‡Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Science, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) , Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jung-Hwan
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering and ‡Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Science, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) , Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Minsu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering and ‡Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Science, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) , Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Do Hyun
authors.initials: do H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering and ‡Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Science, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) , Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong-Hoon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering and ‡Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Science, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) , Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yeon-Su
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering and ‡Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Science, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) , Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sa Hoon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Min
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering and ‡Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Science, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) , Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Byeong-Su
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering and ‡Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Science, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) , Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lee
keywords: Separator membranes; functionalized nanocellulose; heterolayered nanomat; metal-ion chelation; molecular simulation