Elastic Polyurethane as Stress‐Redistribution‐Adhesive‐Layer (SRAL) for Directly Integrated High‐Energy‐Density Flexible Batteries

Abstract

Abstract The low mechanical reliability and integration failure are key challenges hindering the commercialization of geometrically flexible batteries. This work proposes that the failure of directly integrating flexible batteries using traditional rigid adhesives is primarily due to the mismatch between the generated stress at the adhesive/substrate interface, and the maximum allowable stress. Accordingly, a stress redistribution adhesive layer (SRAL) strategy is conceived by using elastic adhesive to redistribute the generated stress. The function mechanism of the SRAL strategy is confirmed by theoretical finite element analysis. Experimentally, a polyurethane (PU) type elastic adhesive (with maximum strain of 1425%) is synthesized and used as the SRAL to integrate rigid cells on different flexible substrates to fabricate directly integrated flexible battery with robust output under various harsh environments, such as stretching, twisting, and even bending in water. The SRAL strategy is expected to be generally applicable in various flexible devices that involve the integration of rigid components onto flexible substrates.

Keywords

• direct integration
• finite element analysis
• flexible
• Li‐ion batteries
• stress redistribution