A new strategy of PVDF based Li-salt polymer electrolyte through electrospinning for lithium battery application

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafine fibers with different proportions of lithium nitrate (LiNO3) were fabricated by an electrospinning device. The processing parameters are optimized to 19 wt% PVDF to get a bead free structure. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) showed the uniform and interconnected porous structure. With the addition of 2 wt% LiNO3, the fiber diameter of the electrospun membrane decreased from 371 to 222 nm. Furthermore, the addition of LiNO3 into the nanofibrous membrane enhanced the ionic conductivity from 0.97 × 10−3 S cm−1 to 1.61 × 10−3 S cm−1 at room temperature after soaking with 1 M LiPF6 (lithium hexafluoro-phosphate) in ethylene carbonate (EC) and diethyl carbonate (DEC) in (1:1 wt%). Compared with the conventional Celgard and pristine PVDF membrane, the salt doped PVDF membranes showed higher electrochemical stability window and lower interfacial resistance. The electrospun membrane separators (ES) were assembled into Lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) as cathode and lithium metal as an anode. The salt doped membrane showed superior discharge, C-rate and stable cycle performance than the commercial Celgard membrane.