High Energy Density Conductive Textile-Based Wearable Batteries

This project aims to develop highly flexible Li-ion batteries with energy densities of 150-200 Wh/kg which are comparable to their rigid counterparts. Lightweight metallic/carbon textiles with high conductivity and mechanical flexibility will be prepared and used as the current collectors. Active materials with high capacity (lithium cobalt oxide, ternary metal lithium oxide, and sulphur for cathode; graphite and lithium for anode) will be integrated with the conductive textiles to construct mechanically robust composite electrodes. The device performance will be optimized by taking electrode pairs with high potential windows and suitable electrolyte systems, to improve the energy density of resultant flexible batteries.

This project responses to the emerging wearable electronic technology, whose market revenue is growing at a rate of around 25% to reach approximately USD80 billion by 2025. Flexible lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries with high electrochemical performance and high mechanical durability, which can be integrated into wearable forms, are highly desired to power up the various wearable electronics. It is expected that the success of this project shall significantly impact the energy storage technology for wearable electronics.