Boehmite/Polyacrylonitrile Composite Nanofiber Separator with Enhanced Ionic Conductivity and Thermal Stability for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Zhi-Jun Tu; Sheng-Bin Cao; Xiao-Song Liu; Xiao-Peng Li; Wei Luo; Dávid István Kis

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3751-1

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Boehmite/Polyacrylonitrile Composite Nanofiber Separator with Enhanced Ionic Conductivity and Thermal Stability for Lithium-Ion Batteries

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-08-19

- Boehmite/Polyacrylonitrile Composite Nanofiber Separator with Enhanced Ionic Conductivity and Thermal Stability for Lithium-Ion Batteries
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Pages: 1-15(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.School of Materials, Shanghai Dianji University, Shanghai 201306, China
  b.Oxford Suzhou Centre for Advanced Research, Suzhou 215123, China
  c.College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
  d.Department of Innovative Vehicles and Materials, GAMF Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science, John von Neumann University, Kecskemét 6000, Hungary
- Author bio：
  
  caosb@sdju.edu.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3751-1
  CLC：
- Received：31 March 2026，
  
  Accepted：18 May 2026，
  
  Online First：18 August 2026，
  
  Published：2026-06
- Accepted：
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Tu, Z. J.; Cao, S. B.; Liu, X. S.; Li, X. P.; Luo, W.; Kis, D. I. Boehmite/polyacrylonitrile composite nanofiber separator with enhanced ionic conductivity and thermal stability for lithium-ion batteries. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-026-3751-1

Zhi-Jun Tu, Sheng-Bin Cao, Xiao-Song Liu, et al. Boehmite/Polyacrylonitrile Composite Nanofiber Separator with Enhanced Ionic Conductivity and Thermal Stability for Lithium-Ion Batteries[J/OL]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 441-15.
Tu, Z. J.; Cao, S. B.; Liu, X. S.; Li, X. P.; Luo, W.; Kis, D. I. Boehmite/polyacrylonitrile composite nanofiber separator with enhanced ionic conductivity and thermal stability for lithium-ion batteries. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-026-3751-1 DOI：

Zhi-Jun Tu, Sheng-Bin Cao, Xiao-Song Liu, et al. Boehmite/Polyacrylonitrile Composite Nanofiber Separator with Enhanced Ionic Conductivity and Thermal Stability for Lithium-Ion Batteries[J/OL]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 441-15. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3751-1.

摘要

Abstract

Polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) are widely used in commercial lithium-ion battery (LIB) separators owing to their high mechanical strength and chemical stability. However

both polymers suffer from poor high-temperature tolerance

low porosity

and inadequate electrolyte wettability

making it difficult to reconcile electrochemical performance with safety under thermal stress. Developing advanced lithium-i

on battery separators is therefore crucial for achieving high efficiency

safe LIBs. This study presents a boehmite/polyacrylonitrile (BM/PAN) composite nanofiber separator fabricated by electrospinning and systematically examines how BM loading affects separator microstructure and electrochemical behavior. Compared with commercial PP separators

the BM/PAN composites exhibit a unique three-dimensional interconnected fiber network

together with markedly improved wettability

thermal stability and electrochemical properties. The optimal formulation contains 4 wt% BM (denoted PAN-BM-4) exhibited an outstanding wettability with electrolyte uptake of 692.5% with the porosity of 80.7% and electrolyte contact angle of 25.5°

ensuring rapid electrolyte infiltration and efficient ion transport. It also displayed a higher mechanical property with tensile strength of 7.9 MPa and elongation at break of 27% (cf. 6.5 MPa and about 45% for pure PAN)

indicating enhanced structural integrity. Meanwhile

such PAN-BM-4 separator demonstrates an excellent thermal stability with negligible shrinkage at 200 °C and a residual mass of 57.6% at 800 °C

effectively mitigating the thermal-runaway risk of conventional separators. Moreover

as to the electrochemical performance

this unique PAN-BM-4 separator showed an ionic conductivity of 3.31 mS/cm

more than six times that of commercial PP

and the electrochemical stability window exceeding 5.5 V (versus Li

/Li) and a Li

transference number (

) of 0.42

substantially higher than PP (0.28) and pure PAN (0.34)

reflecting enhanced selective Li

transport. Besides

in half-cell testing

the PAN-BM-4 separator delivers an initial discharge capacity of 140.6 mAh/g at 0.5 C with 88.3% capacity retention after 100 cycles. In summary

this work establishes a viable materials-design strategy and experimental framework for next-generation LIB separators that simultaneously achieve high ionic conductivity

superior therm

al stability and favorable interfacial compatibility.

关键词

Keywords

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