Separator Electrolyte Systems for Rechargeable Batteries A Study on Electrospun PVDF and Lithium Doped PVDF membranes as Separator materials in Energy Storage Systems

Lithium ion batteries (LIBs) are energy storage device which have wide range of applications from portable electronics to large scale electrical storage application in renewable energy such as wind and solar power. LIBs have dominated the past two decades due to high energy density, no memory effect, longer shelf life, and lighter material. The separator electrolyte system (SES) is placed between the cathode and anode to insulate electronically and conduct ionically. However, lithium reserves are limited, sodium is an ideal replacement for lithium since it shares many physical and chemical properties with lithium, and is also abundant. As a result, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) currently attract huge scientific and technological interest. Electrospinning is an efficient technique to synthesize highly porous and interconnected electroactive poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) based polymer separators. The electroactive separator was immersed in lithium/sodium ionic salt in different combinations of liquid organic solvent. The physicochemical and electrochemical characteristics of SES were investigated.