A solid-state lithium-ion battery, in which all components (current collector, anode and cathode, electrolyte, and packaging) are stretchable, is introduced, giving rise to a battery design with mechanical properties that… Click to show full abstract
A solid-state lithium-ion battery, in which all components (current collector, anode and cathode, electrolyte, and packaging) are stretchable, is introduced, giving rise to a battery design with mechanical properties that are compliant with flexible electronic devices and elastic wearable systems. By depositing Ag microflakes as a conductive layer on a stretchable carbon-polymer composite, a current collector with a low sheet resistance of ≈2.7 Ω □-1 at 100% strain is obtained. Stretchable electrodes are fabricated by integrating active materials with the elastic current collector. A polyacrylamide-"water-in-salt" electrolyte is developed, offering high ionic conductivity of 10-3 to 10-2 S cm-1 at room temperature and outstanding stretchability up to ≈300% of its original length. Finally, all these components are assembled into a solid-state lithium-ion full cell in thin-film configuration. Thanks to the deformable individual components, the full cell functions when stretched, bent, or even twisted. For example, after stretching the battery to 50%, a reversible capacity of 28 mAh g-1 and an average energy density of 20 Wh kg-1 can still be obtained after 50 cycles at 120 mA g-1 , confirming the functionality of the battery under extreme mechanical stress.
               
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