Battery separator
View Patent ↗A battery includes a separator with a trapping layer that traps dissolved metal ions.
1. A battery, comprising:
a cathode;
an anode;
an electrolyte; and
a separator comprising a first layer comprising metal particles;
wherein the electrolyte is an alkaline electrolyte and the metal particles are capable of reducing a metal cation component of an ion generated from the cathode active material and dissolved in the electrolyte.
2. The battery of claim 1 , wherein the metal is bismuth, tin, zinc, or indium.
3. The battery of claim 1 , wherein the first layer has a thickness of from about one micron to about 500 microns.
4. The battery of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the first layer is from about 30 percent to about 70 percent of a thickness of the separator.
5. The battery of claim 1 , wherein the battery further comprises a second layer that is adjacent to the first layer.
6. The battery of claim 5 , wherein the second layer comprises a non-woven material.
7. The battery of claim 5 , wherein the second layer comprises cellophane or grafted polyethylene.
8. The battery of claim 5 , wherein the first layer is separated from the second layer by at least one other layer.
9. The battery of claim 5 , wherein the separator further comprises a third layer.
10. The battery of claim 9 , wherein the first layer is disposed between the second layer and the third layer.
11. The battery of claim 9 , wherein the second layer comprises cellophane or grafted polyethylene.
12. The battery of claim 9 , wherein the second layer comprises a non-woven material and the third layer comprises cellophane or grafted polyethylene.
13. The battery of claim 9 , wherein the second layer is adjacent to the anode.
14. The battery of claim 1 , wherein the metal has a reduction potential that is positive to the reduction potential of hydrogen.
15. The battery of claim 1 , wherein the cathode includes a cathode active material including a copper material.
16. The battery of claim 15 , wherein the cathode active material includes a copper oxide or a copper hydroxide.
17. The battery of claim 15 , wherein the anode includes zinc and the electrolyte includes potassium hydroxide and the dissolved ion in Cu(OH) 4 2− .