• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.60-68
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• 2004

The core-shell polyolefin nonwovon fabric (PNF), wherein the PNF comprises at least about 60% of polyethylene having a melting temperature at ${\sim}132^{\circ}C$ and no more than about 40% of second polypropylene having a lower melting temperature at ${\sim}162^{\circ}C$. The sulfonic acid group for battery separators were prepared by radiation-induced grafting of styrene onto PNF and by the subsequent sulfonation of polystyrene graft chains. The sulfonated PNF was characterized by XPS, SEM, DSC, TGA and porosimeter. The electrochemical properties such as electrolyte retension, electrical resistance, and transport number of the $K^+ions$ were evaluated after sulfonation. It was found that the electrolyte retension increased, whereas the electrical resistance decreased with increasing sulfonic acid content. The transport number of $K^+$ in PNF with sulfonic acid of 0.22 ~ 3.60 mmol/g was to be 0.90 ~ 0.93.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.343-351
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• 2022

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are considered promising energy storage devices with good performance such as high energy density, slow self-discharge rate, high rate charge capacity, and long battery life. However, the application of these LIBs in the high-energy density electric vehicle and large device industries poses a major safety problem. In order to solve this problem, developing a material having high thermal stability and intrinsic safety is the ultimate solution for improving the stability and electrochemical performance of LIBs. This review introduced a surface modification technology of a separator to overcome the stability problem of a commercial separator, and summarized and summarized the research trends using the modified separator for a lithium-ion battery. Based on this, the future prospects for the separator development by surface modification were discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.638-646
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• 2023

Recently, active research has been conducted to enhance the power characteristics and thermal stability of lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) by modifying separators using a ceramic coating method. However, since the thermal properties and surface features of the separator vary depending on the characteristics of the ceramic powders applied to the separator, it is crucial to manufacture ceramic powders optimized for the separator's performance. In this study, we evaluated the characteristics of three types of α-alumina (A-1, A-2, and A-3) produced with varying dispersant contents and milling times, in addition to commercial α-alumina (AES-11). Subsequently, the optimized powders (A-3) were coated onto the separator using an aqueous binder for comparison with the characteristics of an AES-11 coated separator and an uncoated PE separator. The A-3 coated separator improved electrolyte wettability with a low contact angle (44.69°) and increased puncture strength (538 gf). Furthermore, it exhibited excellent thermal stability, with a shrinkage value of 5.64% when exposed to 140℃ for 1 hour, compared to the AES11 coated separator (6.09%) and the bare PE separator (69.64%).

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.49-54
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• 2017

We develop a ceramic composite separator prepared by coating $ZrO_2$ nanoparticles with a poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-HFP) copolymer on a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) mechanical support prepared by electrospinning technique to improve thermal properties. The gurley number of the ceramic composite separator shows much lower value than that of a PE separator even though it possesses the polymeric coating layer with ceramic nanoparticles. In addition, the proposed sample shows higher electrolyte uptake than PE separator, leading to enhancing the ionic conductivity of the proposed sample and, by extension, the rate discharge properties of lithium ion batteries. Thermal stability of the ceramic composite separator is dramatically improved without any degradation in electrochemical performance compared to the performance of conventional PE separators.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.789-793
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• 2021

A lithium secondary battery is the most promising candidate for future energy storage devices. On the other hand, the battery capacity decreases gradually due to the small amount of water and decomposition of the salts during the charging and discharging process, which deteriorates at high temperatures. Many researchers focused on increasing the cycling performance, but there have been few studies on the fundamental problem that removes water and HF molecules. In this study, silane molecules that are capable of absorbing water and HF molecules are introduced to the separator. Firstly, silica-coated amino-silane (APTES, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane) was synthesized, then the silica reacted with epoxy-silane, GPTMS ((3-glycidyloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane). A ceramic-coated separator was fabricated using the silane-coated silica, which is coated on porous polyethylene substrates. FT-IR spectroscopy and TEM analysis were performed to examine the chemical composition and the shape of the silane-coated silica. SEM was performed to confirm the ceramic layers. LMO half cells were fabricated to evaluate the cycling performance at 60 ℃. The cells equipped with a GPTMS-silica separator showed stable cycling performance, suggesting that it would be a solution for improving the cycling performance of the Li-ion batteries at high temperatures.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.48-53
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• 2012

Polyethylene (PE) separator is the most popular separator for lithium-ion batteries. However, it suffers from thermal contraction and mechanical rupture. In order to improve the thermal/mechanical dimensional stabilities, this study investigated the effects of $Si_3N_4$ coating. SCS (Silicon-nitride Coated Separator) has been fabricated by applying 10 ${\mu}m$-thick $Si_3N_4$/PVdF coating on one side of PE separator. SCS exhibits enhanced thermal stability over $100{\sim}150^{\circ}C$: its thermal shrinkage is reduced by 10~20% compared with pristine PE separator. In addition, SCS shows higher tensile strength than PE separator. Employing SCS hardly affects the C-rate performance of $LiCoO_2$/Li coin-cell, even though its ionic conductivity is somewhat lower than that of PE separator.