Conducting polymer paper-derived separators for lithium metal batteries

Overoxidised polypyrrole (PPy) paper has been employed as a mesoporous separator for lithium metal batteries (LMBs) based on its narrow pore size distribution, good thermal stability, high ionic conductivity (1.1 mS cm−1 with a LP40 electrolyte) and high electrolyte wettability. The overoxidised PPy paper was produced from a PPy/cellulose composite using a combined base and heat-treatment process, yielding a highly interrupted pyrrole molecular structure including N-containing polar groups maintaining the readily adaptable mesoporous-structure of the pristine PPy paper. This well-defined pore structure gave rise to a homogeneous current distribution which significantly increased the performance of a LiFePO4|Li cell. With the overoxidised PPy separator, a symmetric Li|Li cell could be cycled reversibly for more than 600 h without any short-circuits in a LP40 electrolyte. This approach facilitates the manufacturing of well-defined separators for fundamental investigations of the influence of the separator structure on the performance of LMBs.