Polymer composites and blends for battery separators: State of the art, challenges and future trends

In lithium ion battery systems, the separator plays a key role with respect to device performance. Polymer composites and polymer blends have been frequently used as battery separators due to their suitable properties. This review presents the main issues, developments and characteristics of these polymer composites and blends for battery separator membrane applications. This review is divided into two sections regarding the composition of the materials: polymer composite materials, subdivided according to filler type, and polymer blend materials. For each category the electrolyte solutions, ionic conductivity and other relevant physical-chemical characteristics are described. This review shows the recent advances and opportunities in this area and identifies future trends and challenges.

This work is funded by FEDER funds through the “Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade–COMPETE” and by national funds from FCT–Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, in the framework of the strategic project Strategic Projects PEST-C/FIS/UI607/2011 and grants SFRH/BD/66930/2009 (J.N.P.) and SFRH/BD/68499/2010 (C.M.C.). The authors thank funding from Matepro–Optimizing Materialsand Processes”, ref. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000037”, co-funded by the “Programa Operacional Regional do Norte” (ON.2–O Novo Norte), under the “Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional”(QREN), through the “Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional” (FEDER).