HIGH ENERGY DENSITY BATTERY for WEARABLE ELECTRONICS and SENSORS Thesis Submitted to the School of Engineering of the UNIVERSITY
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HIGH ENERGY DENSITY BATTERY FOR WEARABLE ELECTRONICS AND SENSORS Thesis Submitted to The School of Engineering of the UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Master of Science in Electrical Engineering By Asha Palanisamy Dayton, Ohio December, 2016 HIGH ENERGY DENSITY BATTERY FOR WEARABLE ELECTRONICS AND SENSORS Name: Palanisamy, Asha APPROVED BY: ___________________________ ___________________________ Guru Subramanyam, Ph.D. Jitendra Kumar, Ph.D. Advisory Committee Chairman Advisory Committee Co-Chairman Department Chair and Professor Senior Research Scientist Department of Electrical and University of Dayton Research Computer Engineering Institute ___________________________ Vamsy Chodavarapu, Ph.D. Committee member Associate Professor Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering ___________________________ ___________________________ Robert J. Wilkens, Ph.D., P.E. Eddy M. Rojas, Ph.D., M.A., P.E. Associate Dean for Research and Innovation Dean, School of Engineering Professor School of Engineering ii © Copyright by Asha Palanisamy All rights reserved 2016 iii ABSTRACT HIGH ENERGY DENSITY BATTERY FOR WEARABLE ELECTRONICS AND SENSORS Name: Palanisamy, Asha University of Dayton Advisors: Dr. Guru Subramanyam & Dr. Jitendra Kumar Wearable electronics and sensors are being extensively developed for several applications such as health monitors, watches, wristbands, eyeglasses, socks and smart clothing. Energy storage devices such as rechargeable batteries make wearable devices to become more independent from power outlets, or in other words, make device portability. Battery energy density determines how long a battery powered device will work before it needs a recharge. Longer the time before battery needs recharge, better it is for device applications. Therefore, the goal of battery researchers and engineers is to develop a battery that can provide high energy density and longer device operation. The state-of- the-art battery is the lithium-ion battery (LIB) technology outperforming any other battery for the aforementioned applications. Even LIB is limited in energy storage (energy density ~200 Wh/kg) and requires frequent battery charge. Some other major challenges associated with LIBs are high cost, low cycle life (restricted to 500 – 1000 cycles), safety, and negative environmental impacts. iv Further improvement in LIB is very limited as the technology is reaching the theoretical limit and therefore new battery technology with greater energy density and overall better performance must be developed in order to match the ever increasing power demand in fast growing electronics. Lithium sulfur battery (LSB) (energy density ~2600 Wh/kg) is one of the most promising batteries for next generation energy storage, enabling approximately 10 times more energy storage in LSB than LIB. Furthermore, sulfur is inexpensive, abundant and environmental friendly. Therefore, LSB is expected to be more economical, safe and environmentally sustainable compared to LIB. However, performance (cycle life, thermal stability and safety) of current LSB technology do not meet commercialization standards at current development stage and thus, open for further technological advancements. My thesis focuses on the development of novel materials that when successfully developed will improve the overall performance of LSB and can meet commercialization standards by combining thermal and dendrite-proof solid ion conducting ceramic based electrolyte (no liquid spillage) along with solid state and flexible S-cathode being developed in the Electrochemical Energy Systems Laboratory at the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) of University of Dayton (UD). v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply indebted to my advisor, Dr. Jitendra Kumar, who introduced me to the subject ‘Solid state batteries’ and thrived my interest on this new technology. His guidance and inspiration helped me to complete this work. I am grateful to my department chair, Dr. Guru Subramanyam, for his incessant support and encouragement. My heartfelt thanks to Dr. Priyanka Bhattacharya for aiding me in my research work through her brilliant ideas and valuable thoughts. Special thanks to Dr. Vamsy Chodavarapu for his valuable suggestions on my research work. I would like to thank the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Dayton (UD), for the financial support that allowed me to pursue this research work and the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI), for providing me with the opportunity to work in an excellent lab. Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to my family and friends for their unflagging love and motivation throughout my studies. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………….………….....iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………….….......vi LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………….............x LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………….....xii LIST OF ABBREVATIONS AND NOTATIONS…………………………………......xiii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………….…………1 1.1 Wearable Electronics and Need for Flexible Energy Storage Systems (Batteries)……………………………………………………………………...1 1.2 The State-of-the-Art Battery Technology: Lithium-Ion Battery (LIB).............7 1.2.1 Working Principle of LIB………………………………………....9 1.2.2 Challenges in LIB…………………………..……………….…...11 1.2.3 Solutions to the Challenges of LIB…………………….....……...11 1.3 Next Generation Li Batteries…….………………………………….…….....12 1.4 Next Generation Battery: Lithium-Sulfur Battery (LSB) ………...……..…..13 1.4.1 Working Principle of LSB….…………………………………....13 1.4.2 Challenges in LSB…………..…………………………….……..16 1.4.3 Solutions to the Challenges of LSB…….....……………….….....17 1.5 Liquid Electrolyte vs. Solid Electrolyte…………………………...……........18 1.6 LAGP Solid Electrolyte…………………………………...………………....19 vii 1.7 Comparison of LIB and LSB Technologies……………………..………..….19 1.8 Thesis Objectives………………………………………….………………....22 CHAPTER 2 SOLUTIONS TO THE CHALLENGES OF LSB…………………….….23 2.1 Components and Fabrication of Li-S Cell ….………………………........….23 2.1.1 Tools Used to Fabricate Cell Components.……….………………..24 2.2 Li-S Cell Fabrication and Electrochemical Testing…......…………………...24 2.2.1 Tools Used for Testing the Li-S Cells…...……………….………..26 2.3 Effect of Solid Electrolyte (LAGP) Based S-Cathode on Li-S Performance..26 2.3.1 Preparation of S-Cathode with LAGP …………....……...……...26 2.3.2 Preparation of S-Cathode without LAGP …………...………......27 2.3.3 Fabrication of Li-S with and without LAGP Based S-Cathode.....27 2.3.4 Testing of Li-S with and without LAGP Based S-Cathode...……28 2.3.5 Battery Performance Comparison…...…………………………...28 2.4 Effect of Concentration of S-Cathode Binder (PVDF) on Li-S Performance.30 2.4.1 Preparation of S-Cathode with Varying Concentration of PVDF Binder (5 wt% and 10 wt%) ……...……………..………...…..…31 2.4.2 Fabrication and Testing of Li-S with Variable PVDF Concentrations………………………………………………...…31 2.4.3 Battery Performance Comparison………...………………...……31 2.5 Effect of Solid Electrolyte (LAGP) Based Separator on Li-S Performance....33 2.5.1 Fabrication of LAGP Based Polyethylene (PE) Separator…....…34 viii 2.5.2 Preparation of S-Cathode of Li-S with LAGP Coated PE Separator…………………………………………………...…….34 2.5.3 Fabrication and Testing of Li-S with LAGP Coated PE Separator…..………...……………..…………………………….35 2.5.4 Battery Performance Comparison….…………………………….35 CHAPTER 3 CNT COATED PAPER CURRENT COLLECTOR FOR S- CATHODES….…..…………………………………………………………...…….…...38 3.1 Flexible CNT Paper-Based vs Traditional Aluminum Metal Current Collector…………...………………………………..…………………...…….....38 3.1.1 Preparation of the CNT Solution for CNT (P-B) Substrate..............40 3.1.2 Preparation of S-Cathode with CNT (P-B) Substrate….……...…...40 3.1.3 Fabrication and Testing of Li-S with CNT Coated Flexible Current Collector………………………….………………..……………………..41 3.1.4 Battery Performance Comparison……………………………….…4 1 CHAPTER 4 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK…………………………..........44 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………...…...46 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Wearable Devices Requiring Flexible Batteries…………………………..…...2 Figure 1.2 Samsung’s Note 7 Explosion Due to Battery Failure……………………..…...4 Figure 1.3 (a) Battery Folding Technique (Kirigami) for Rigid Unit Battery Cell Block...5 Figure 1.3 (b) Flexible Substrate Based Flexible LIB Battery for Wearable Devices..…..5 Figure 1.4 (a) Working Principle of LIB…...……………………………………...…….10 Figure 1.4 (b) Charge-Discharge Voltage Profile of Li-Ion Cell (with LCO Cathode)....10 Figure 1.5 Specific Energies of Potential Battery Technologies Useful for Wearable Devices and Sensors..…………………………………………………………………....12 Figure 1.6 (a) Working Principle of LSB…………………………………………….….14 Figure 1.6 (b) Charge-Discharge Profile of LSB…………..……………………….…....14 Figure 1.6 (c) Li-S Cell and Dissolution of Polysulfides Issue…..……….……………..14 Figure 1.7 LAGP-coated PE Solid Electrolyte……………………..…………………....19 Figure 1.8 (a) First Charge/Discharge Capacity of Li-Ion and Li-S Cells…………….....21 Figure 1.8 (b) Cyclability of Li-Ion and Li-S Cells…………………………………..….21 Figure 2.1 Assembling of Cell Components in Li-S Cell……………………………..…23 x Figure 2.2 (a) Flexible Lithium Anode……………………………………………..……25 Figure 2.2 (b) Flexible S-cathode……….…………………………………………….…25 Figure 2.2 (c) Flexible LAGP-Coated PE Separator………………………………….…25 Figure 2.3 (a) First Charge/Discharge Capacity with/without LAGP in the Cathode…...29 Figure 2.3 (b) Cyclability of Li-S Cell with/without LAGP in the Cathode……….........29 Figure 2.4 (a) First Charge/Discharge Capacity