Research progress of self-repairing polymers in electrochemical energy storage devices

Abstract

Self-healing polymer materials are able to self-repair damage and recover themselves after cracks generating to maintain their structural and functional integrity. According to whether additional repair agent is added, self-healing polymers are mainly divided into two categories, namely extrinsic- and intrinsic-based polymers.The key materials of electrochemical energy storage devices will experience irreversible mechanical damage in extreme condition applications, for example, the energy storage device more prone to physical damage inwearable devices during the multiple bending and deformation processes. These problems severely reduce the stability of energy storage and delivery, and shorten the life of the devices. Therefore, the application of self-healing polymers in electrochemical energy storage devices to improve the stability and life of devices has become one of the research hotspots in recent years. Herein,this article summarizes the repair mechanism of self-healing polymer materials (capsule-based, vascular-based, and intrinsic polymers), with main focus on intrinsic self-healing polymer and its research progress in the field of electrochemical energy storage, which based on molecular interactions to achieve multi-time reversible healing without any additional repair agent.The self-healing electrode and electrolyte system were reviewed respectively, and then the self-healing mechanism and its influence on the electrochemical performance of energy storage devices were described. The research progress of self-healing functional polymer as high specific energy electrode binder, interface modification layer and self-healing electrolyte were summarized in detail. Finally, the future perspectives regarding the future development of self-healing polymer materials were also discussed.

Keywords

• self-healing polymer
• electrochemical energy storage
• electrode
• electrolyte
• interface