Photopatternable Porous Separators for Micro-Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems

The miniaturization of electrochemical energy storage (EES) systems, one of the key challenges facing the rapid expansion of the Internet-of-Things, has been limited by poor performance of the various energy-storage components at the micrometer scale. Here, the development of a unique photopatternable porous separator that overcomes the electrolyte difficulties involving resistive losses at small dimensions is reported. The separator is based on modifying the chemistry of SU-8, an epoxy-derived photoresist, through the addition of a miscible ionic liquid. The ionic liquid serves as a templating agent, which is selectively removed by solution methods, leaving the SU-8 scaffold whose interconnected porosity provides ion transport from the confined liquid electrolyte. The photopatternable separator exhibits good electrochemical, chemical, thermal, and mechanical stability during the operation of electrochemical devices in both 2D and 3D formats. For the latter, the separator demonstrates the ability to form conformal coatings over 3D structures. The development of the photopatternable separator overcomes the electrolyte issues, which have limited progress in the field of micro-EES.