Evaporation-induced self-assembled silica colloidal particle-assisted nanoporous structural evolution of poly(ethylene terephthalate) nonwoven composite separators for high-safety/high-rate lithium-ion batteries

► New nonwoven composite separators for use in high-safety/high-rate lithium batteries. ► Provision of a facile route to fine-tune porous structure of the nonwoven separators. ► Silica colloidal particle-assisted nanoporous structural evolution in PET nonwovens. ► Interstitial voids formed from evaporation-induced self-assembly of SiO2 colloidal particles. ► The structural novelty allows lower thermal shrinkage and superior cell performance.