A Highly Impact-Tolerant Textile-Based Lithium-Ion Battery

Textile-based lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are in great demand to power wearable electronics. They currently face a key safety challenge, particularly concerning mechanical abuse that could trigger thermal runaway, causing harm to individuals. Here, we report on Kevlar-fabric-based LIBs that can afford high impact tolerance while offering excellent electrochemical performance comparable to metal-foil-based cells. The integration of Kevlar electrodes, known for their protective nature, with impact-tolerant shear thickening electrolytes (STEs) effectively dissipates the impact energy. It can be ascribed to the shear thickening effect and the induced yarn-to-yarn friction within Kevlar fabrics. This design mirrors the configuration of liquid body armor that consists of shear thickening fluid and Kevlar fabric. This work provides an alternative approach for developing highly impact-tolerant LIBs.