Tailored Stitching and Vertical Stacking for High-Voltage Multifunctional Structural Batteries with Enhanced...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Mechanical Engineering

Background:

• Multifunctional structural batteries offer lightweight potential by combining load-bearing and energy storage.
• Conventional carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) structural batteries face challenges like delamination and poor interfacial bonding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a high-voltage structural battery with enhanced mechanical and electrochemical performance.
• To investigate the impact of through-thickness aramid fiber stitching on CFRP-based structural batteries.

Main Methods:

• A vertically stacked, high-voltage structural battery was designed using CFRP.
• Through-thickness aramid fiber stitching and thermoplastic interfaces were integrated.
• Elium resin and polypropylene barriers were employed for improved shielding.
• Stitch architectures were systematically varied to assess their effects.

Main Results:

• The stitched structural battery achieved an energy density of 42.2 Wh kg⁻¹ (14% improvement).
• Flexural strength increased by 40% to 215.6 MPa, with a modulus of 14.7 GPa.
• The system demonstrated stable energy performance under mechanical deformation.

Conclusions:

• Aramid fiber stitching significantly enhances both mechanical properties and energy density in CFRP structural batteries.
• The developed structural battery exhibits competitive performance for multifunctional integration in lightweight systems.
• The design shows improved electrochemical and structural resilience compared to unstitched configurations.