Thin film batteries (TFBs), which are only a few millimeters thick, light-weight and flexible, have huge potential for application in solar cell storage devices, smart cards, RFID tags, implantable medical devices, wireless sensors, etc.
However, in order to achieve desired performance for their successful application, tremendous research is presently being directed towards finding suitable materials for building various components of a TFB.
Within this project, a new concept of developing fibre based solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) and TFBs has been proposed. According to this concept, a solid fibrous electrolyte can be developed through application of Ion Jelly onto a textile fabric and subsequently, the TFB can be developed by applying Ion Jelly (containing active electrode materials such as LiCoO2) onto both surfaces of the developed SPE. Based on this concept, a light weight textile fabric (silk) was treated with Ion Jelly solution through a simple and fast dip-nip process and kept overnight for jellification. Various process parameters such as Ion Jelly composition, application temperature and squeezing pressure were optimized to achieve the best results. It was observed that the best SPE developed through this concept attains a room temperature ionic conductivity as high as 2.9×10-3 S. cm-1, which is similar to pure Ion Jelly film and room temperature ionic liquids.
Goals
- To develop a new process for applying Ion Jelly onto textile substrates in order to develop fibre based SPEs and TFBs.
- To characterize the electrical, electro-chemical and mechanical properties of developed SPEs and TFBs.
Key Findings and Ongoing Research
- A simple and eco-friendly process of applying Ion Jelly onto textile substrates was developed.
- The developed fibre based electrolyte achieved very high ionic conductivity similar to liquid electrolytes and also good mechanical stability and electro-chemical properties.
- Fabrication and characterization of fibrous TFB are presently carried out by the research tea.
This project was carried out by the Post-doc researcher Dr. Sohel Rana under the guidance of Professor Raul Fangueiro.
