Fluid-fluid interfaces allow for the fabrication of very thin films with well-defined thickness, ranging from a few nm to hundreds of nm in thickness. For example, surfactants commonly encountered in real life (1 nm in thickness) can be used to form thin films with large surface area (ranging from tens of cm to m-scale). This suggests that surface-active molecules can be oriented at fluid-fluid interfaces and be used to separate molecules. By controlling the alignment and concentration of the molecules at the fluid-fluid interface, it is possible to control the size of pore between molecules. Recently, we found that when polymers are aligned in two-dimensional space, they exhibit a different structure and size than their free volume in three dimensions, and this can be controlled. Instead of using conventional thin film fabrication methods such as interfacial polymerization or coating techniques, it is expected to lead a new paradigm in membrane fabrication by controlling the adsorption behavior of materials at the interface of two immiscible liquids to produce very thin, large-area separation membranes with high permeability and selectivity. For this reason, we are currently conducting research to fabricate ultra-thin films with well-defined pores using two-dimensional interfacial space to develop battery separators and lithium separation processes, as well as lithium recycling and recovery processes.
2. Colloidal Matters for Energy Storage System
An emulsion is a heterogeneous mixture of two liquids that are immiscible with each other and are dispersed in another liquid in the form of small droplets in a certain ratio. Since the two different interfaces have different properties, a stabilizer is essential to stabilize the interfaces. Amphiphilic polymers, solid particles, etc. are used as such stabilizers, and depending on which stabilizer is used, emulsion-based colloids (hydrogels, nanoparticles, microcapsules, etc.) with various properties can be synthesized. Furthermore, porous materials can also be prepared if the dispersed phase is effectively removed after emulsion preparation. This method is called emulsion-templating, and it is facile to control pore size and achieve higher porosity compared to the conventional foaming method. Therefore, we aim to utilize these emulsion-based materials for next-generation energy applications. Currently, research is underway on next-generation energy storage systems, including solid electrolytes with significantly improved ionic conductivity based on nano-porous structured foams with high surface charge, and microcapsules that can prevent battery explosion.