A heat-resistant silica nanoparticle enhanced polysulfonamide nonwoven separator for high-performance lithium ion battery

In this paper, a heat-resistant silica nanoparticle enhanced polysulfonamide nonwoven separator has been successfully explored by electrospinning method followed by a dip-coating process for high-performance lithium ion battery. In comparison to Celgard 2500 separator, silica nanoparticle enhanced polysulfonamide nonwoven separator possessed higher porosity, better electrolyte uptake, superior thermal resistance and higher ionic conductivity. The lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2)/graphite cell using silica nanoparticle enhanced polysulfonamide nonwoven separator displayed better rate capability and superior capacity retention than that of Celgard 2500 separator. Moreover, silica nanoparticle enhanced polysulfonamide nonwoven separator based lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4)/lithium(Li) cell exhibited stable charge-discharge capability and satisfactory cycle performance even at a high temperature of 120 degrees C. These advanced characteristics would boost the application of silica nanoparticle enhanced polysulfonamide nonwoven separator for high-power lithium ion battery. (C) 2013 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.