Enhancement of the Ionic Conductivity and Mechanical Strength of Micro-porous Separator by Uni-axial Drawing

A new porous separator based on poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)/poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoro-propylene) (P(VdF-co-HFP)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was prepared by a phase inversion method. To enhance mechanical property, the membrane was stretched uniaxially at high temperature. Tensile strength and ionic conductivity were measured for various draw ratios. The tensile strength and ionic conductivity were increased with increasing draw ratio. The tensile strength of the separator reached 52MPa after stretching to draw ratio of 5, and the ionic conductivity of the separator was increased from $1.9Xs10^{-4}S/cm\;to\;4.6X10^{-4}S/cm\;at\;25^{\circ}C$. The stretched separator immersed in liquid electrolyte was electrochemically stable up to 4.7 V. The cell based on the stretched separator was maintained at about 99% of the initial discharge capacity after 10th cycle operation at 0.2C rate.