Multifunctional nanocomposite structural separators for energy storage
Separators in energy storage devices such as batteries and supercapacitors are critical elements between the much-researched anodes and cathodes. Here we present a new “structural separator” comprised of electrically-insulating aligned alumina nanotubes, which realizes a structural, or mechanically...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
2020
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/126153 |
| _version_ | 1826215262036164608 |
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| author | Acauan, Luiz Henrique H Zhou, Yue Kalfon-Cohen, Estelle Fritz, Nathan K Wardle, Brian L |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Acauan, Luiz Henrique H Zhou, Yue Kalfon-Cohen, Estelle Fritz, Nathan K Wardle, Brian L |
| author_sort | Acauan, Luiz Henrique H |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Separators in energy storage devices such as batteries and supercapacitors are critical elements between the much-researched anodes and cathodes. Here we present a new “structural separator” comprised of electrically-insulating aligned alumina nanotubes, which realizes a structural, or mechanically robust, function in addition to allowing charge transfer. The polymer nanocomposite structural separator is demonstrated in a supercapacitor cell and also as an interface reinforcement in an aerospace-grade structural carbon fiber composite. Relative to a polymeric commercial separator, the structural separator shows advantages both electrically and structurally: ionic conductivity in the supercapacitor cell is doubled due to the nanotubes disrupting the semi-crystallinity in the polymer electrolyte, and the structural separator creates an interface that is 50% stronger in the advanced composite. In addition to providing direct benefits to existing energy storage devices, the structural separator is best suited to multifunctional structural energy storage applications. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:20:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/126153 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:20:46Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1261532022-09-29T19:39:41Z Multifunctional nanocomposite structural separators for energy storage Acauan, Luiz Henrique H Zhou, Yue Kalfon-Cohen, Estelle Fritz, Nathan K Wardle, Brian L Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering Separators in energy storage devices such as batteries and supercapacitors are critical elements between the much-researched anodes and cathodes. Here we present a new “structural separator” comprised of electrically-insulating aligned alumina nanotubes, which realizes a structural, or mechanically robust, function in addition to allowing charge transfer. The polymer nanocomposite structural separator is demonstrated in a supercapacitor cell and also as an interface reinforcement in an aerospace-grade structural carbon fiber composite. Relative to a polymeric commercial separator, the structural separator shows advantages both electrically and structurally: ionic conductivity in the supercapacitor cell is doubled due to the nanotubes disrupting the semi-crystallinity in the polymer electrolyte, and the structural separator creates an interface that is 50% stronger in the advanced composite. In addition to providing direct benefits to existing energy storage devices, the structural separator is best suited to multifunctional structural energy storage applications. 2020-07-13T16:18:38Z 2020-07-13T16:18:38Z 2019-12 2019-08 2019-12-13T14:41:11Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 2040-3372 https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/126153 Acauan, Luiz H., et al. "Multifunctional nanocomposite structural separators for energy storage." Nanoscale 45 (Dec. 2019): p. 21964-73 doi 10.1039/c9nr06954b ©2019 Author(s) en 10.1039/c9nr06954b Nanoscale Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial 3.0 unported license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ application/pdf Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) |
| spellingShingle | Acauan, Luiz Henrique H Zhou, Yue Kalfon-Cohen, Estelle Fritz, Nathan K Wardle, Brian L Multifunctional nanocomposite structural separators for energy storage |
| title | Multifunctional nanocomposite structural separators for energy storage |
| title_full | Multifunctional nanocomposite structural separators for energy storage |
| title_fullStr | Multifunctional nanocomposite structural separators for energy storage |
| title_full_unstemmed | Multifunctional nanocomposite structural separators for energy storage |
| title_short | Multifunctional nanocomposite structural separators for energy storage |
| title_sort | multifunctional nanocomposite structural separators for energy storage |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/126153 |
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