Presente y Futuro de los Polímeros en el Diseño de Baterías de Litio

The lithium ion based electrochemical battery is one of the most widely used energy storage devices in our society, due to its high values of specific energy and power. This article introduces the current state of the art of these energy storage devices and develops the role of polymers in it. Polymers are, among the solid materials, those with lower densities, higher free volume fractions and higher molecular and ionic diffusivity. Also, polymers have excellent specific mechanical properties. These properties make it possible to find polymeric materials in different battery components. For instance, polymers are described as binders in the porous electrodes, as separators that prevent the internal short circuit of the battery or more recently in the development of solid electrolytes that inhibit dendritic growth and allow the development of batteries with lithium metal anode.