Screen-Printable Hexagonal Boron Nitride Ionogel Electrolytes for Mechanically Deformable Solid-State Lithium-Ion...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Ionogel electrolytes offer advantages for solid-state lithium-ion batteries, including safety and stability.
• Current processing limitations hinder the widespread application of ionogel electrolytes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, screen-printable ionogel electrolyte formulation.
• To enhance the processability and applicability of ionogel electrolytes for scalable battery manufacturing.

Main Methods:

• Formulation of an ionogel electrolyte using hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanoplatelets, an imidazolium ionic liquid, and ethyl lactate.
• Screen printing technique to achieve spatially uniform and mechanically flexible ionogel films.
• Characterization of electrochemical properties (ionic conductivity) and mechanical properties (modulus).

Main Results:

• Achieved high room-temperature ionic conductivity (>1 mS cm⁻¹).
• Obtained stiff mechanical moduli (>1 MPa).
• Successfully fabricated fully screen-printed lithium-ion batteries with high cycling stability and rate performance.

Conclusions:

• The developed hBN ionogel electrolyte is screen-printable, enabling scalable additive manufacturing of solid-state batteries.
• The electrolytes demonstrate excellent electrochemical and mechanical properties, including resilience to flexion.
• This work presents a robust energy storage solution compatible with large-scale production.