Lithium batteries (LBs) have become increasingly important energy storage systems in our daily life. However, their practical applications are still severely plagued by the safety issues from liquid electrolyte, espec...Lithium batteries (LBs) have become increasingly important energy storage systems in our daily life. However, their practical applications are still severely plagued by the safety issues from liquid electrolyte, especially when the batteries are exposed to mechanical, thermal, or electrical abuse conditions. Gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) are being considered as an effective solution to replace currently available organic liquid electrolyte for building safer LBs. This review provides recent advancements in GPEs applied for high-performance LBs. On the one hand, from the environmental and economic point of view, the skeletons of GPEs changed from traditional polymer to renewable and degradable polymer. On the other hand, in addition to being as a component with good electrochemical and physical characterizations, the GPEs also need to provide some functions for addressing the concerns of lithium (Li) dendrites, unstable cathode electrolyte interface, dissolution and migration of transition metal ions,"shuttle effect" of polysulfides, and so on. Finally, to synchronously meet the challenges from the advanced cathode and Li metal anode, the bio-based GPEs with multi-functionality are proposed to develop high-energy/powerdensity batteries in the future.展开更多
基金financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51873011 and U1664251)the Fundamental Research Fund for the Central Universities (No. JC1504)
文摘Lithium batteries (LBs) have become increasingly important energy storage systems in our daily life. However, their practical applications are still severely plagued by the safety issues from liquid electrolyte, especially when the batteries are exposed to mechanical, thermal, or electrical abuse conditions. Gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) are being considered as an effective solution to replace currently available organic liquid electrolyte for building safer LBs. This review provides recent advancements in GPEs applied for high-performance LBs. On the one hand, from the environmental and economic point of view, the skeletons of GPEs changed from traditional polymer to renewable and degradable polymer. On the other hand, in addition to being as a component with good electrochemical and physical characterizations, the GPEs also need to provide some functions for addressing the concerns of lithium (Li) dendrites, unstable cathode electrolyte interface, dissolution and migration of transition metal ions,"shuttle effect" of polysulfides, and so on. Finally, to synchronously meet the challenges from the advanced cathode and Li metal anode, the bio-based GPEs with multi-functionality are proposed to develop high-energy/powerdensity batteries in the future.