High temperature stable Li-ion battery separators based on polyetherimides with improved electrolyte compatibility

Abstract We report (electro-)chemically stable, high temperature resistant and fast wetting Li-ion battery separators produced through a phase inversion process using novel polyetherimides (PEI) based on bisphenol-aceton diphthalic anhydride (BPADA) and para -phenylenediamine (pPD). In contrast to previous studies using PEI based on BPADA and meta -phenylenediamine (mPD), the separators reported herein show limited swelling in electrolytes and do not require fillers to render sufficient mechanical strength and ionic conductivity. In this work, the produced 15–25 μm thick PEI-pPD separators show excellent electrolyte compatibility, proven by low degrees of swelling in electrolyte solvents, low contact angles, fast electrolyte wicking and high electrolyte uptake. The separators cover a tunable range of morphologies and properties, leading to a wide range of ionic conductivities as studied by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) demonstrated dimensional stability up to 220 °C. Finally, single layer graphite/lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) pouch cells were assembled using this novel PEI-pPD separator, showing an excellent capacity retention of 89.3% after 1000 1C/2C cycles, with a mean Coulombic efficiency of 99.77% and limited resistance build-up. We conclude that PEI-pPD is a promising new material candidate for high performance separators.