Development and applications of cellulose-based separators for energy storage devices
摘要
Compared to traditional polyolefin separators, cellulose-based separators have garnered increasing attention in recent years due to their superior electrolyte wettability, excellent thermal stability, biodegradability, and overall environmental friendliness. This review provides an overview of the research progress in cellulose-based separators, covering material sources, preparation techniques, modification strategies, and their applications in different types of batteries. Regarding source materials, bacterial cellulose (BC), cellulose nanofibers (CNF), and cellulose derivatives such as cellulose acetate (CA) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) all demonstrate great potential for fabricating battery separators, yielding membranes with remarkable mechanical and electrochemical properties. Cellulose-based separator preparation techniques primarily include vacuum filtration, phase inversion, freeze drying, and electrospinning. Cellulose-based separator modifications mainly include chemical (e.g., chemical bonding, redox reactions, and graft polymerization) and physical (e.g., adding inorganic nanoparticles, cellulose nanocrystal (CNC), lignin) approaches to improve electrochemical and mechanical performance. Regarding battery applications, nanocellulose separators show promising potential in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), and lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries, owing to their exceptional thermal stability and electrolyte wettability, offering possibilities for further improving battery performance and safety. Furthermore, this review outlines critical challenges that need to be resolved for the future development of cellulose-based battery separators and provides perspectives on future research directions.