Closely packed x-poly(ethylene glycol diacrylate) coated polyetherimide/poly(vinylidene fluoride) fiber separators for lithium ion batteries with enhanced thermostability and improved electrolyte wettability

The x-polyethylene glycol diacrylate (x-PEGDA) coated polyetherimide/polyvinylidene fluoride (PEI/PVdF) membranes are obtained by the facile combination of dip-coating and free radical polymerization of PEGDA on the electrospun PEI/PVdF fiber membranes. Successful cross-linking of PEGDA increases the average fibers diameter from 553 to 817 nm and reduces the packing density, which not only increases the tensile strength of x-PEGDA coated PEI/PVdF membranes, but also decreases the average pore diameter . Besides, the x-PEGDA coated PEI/PVdF membranes are endowed with good wettability , high electrolyte uptake, high ionic conductivity and improved electrochemical stability window because of the good affinity of PEI and PEGDA with liquid electrolyte . Benefiting from the synergetic effect of PEI and PVdF, the x-PEGDA coated PEI/PVdF membranes exhibit excellent thermal stability and nonflammability, which are beneficial for enhancing the safety of lithium ion batteries . More importantly, the x-PEGDA coated PEI/PVdF membranes based Li/LiFePO 4 cell exhibits comparable cycling stability with capacity retention of 95.9% after 70 cycles and better rate capability compared with the Celgard membrane based cell. The results clearly demonstrate that the x-PEGDA coated PEI/PVdF membranes are the promising separator candidate with improved wettability and safety for next-generation lithium ion batteries.