Lithium battery is added with strong flame retardant to prevent explosion

Lithium battery safety hazards have always existed. The latest research report added a strong flame retardant to the lithium battery, which will be released when the device is overheated to prevent the device from catching fire.

When a lithium-ion battery is overheated, it can burn the outer packaging of the battery, causing an open flame or even an explosion. After conducting in-depth research on such 'thermal runaway

Researchers have tried to add flame retardant directly to the electrolyte of the battery, but this method will greatly reduce the performance of the battery. For this reason, they added a separator to the lithium-ion battery. This component not only ensures the separation of the positive and negative electrodes of the battery, but also is filled with triphenyl phosphate, which is a low-cost, effective and widely used flame retardant.

In the process of conventional battery use, flame retardants usually make plastic fibers encapsulate. If the temperature around the packaging material exceeds 150 degrees Celsius, the plastic will automatically melt, releasing the flame retardant stored inside. According to the experimental results, the burning electrolyte can be completely extinguished within 0.4 seconds. In the journal 'Science AdvanCES' published on January 13, the research results were shown in detail.

'Using our'smart' separator, battery performance under normal conditions will not be affected by flame retardants.' Materials scientist from Stanford University in California, and the senior author of this report Yi Cui said: 'However, once thermal runaway occurs, the flame retardant will be activated to prevent combustion and explosion.'

Future scientific research will further explore the lithium ion after the separator is equipped. The impact of the battery in other aspects, such as overcharging/discharging, battery damage and deformation, etc. Cui said: 'In view of the current frequent fires and explosions caused by lithium-ion batteries, I firmly believe that our safety isolators will be widely used in the future.'