Lithium batteries have been widely used. However, traditional liquid electrolyte applied in the cell bring about unsatisfactory growth of lithium dendrite and safety problems due to its leak and low boiling point. Gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) are intermediate substance between liquid electrolyte and solid electrolyte, which can act as not only electrolyte, but also battery separator, which reduce leakage risk of liquid electrolytes and high interface resistance of solid electrolytes. In the review, the preparation methods of different types of GPEs in lithium batteries, such as solution casting, phase conversion, in-situ polymerization, UV(ultraviolet) curing and electrospinning methods are concluded, and the applications of different fibers-based GPEs (poly (vinylidenefluoride, PVDF), poly (vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropene, PVDF-HFP), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), poly acrylonitrile (PAN) and poly-m-phenyleneisophthalamide (PMIA)) in lithium batteries are emphatically summarized. Finally, we conclude with an outlook section to provide some insights on the future prospects of GPEs in lithium batteries. The discussion and proposed strategies in the review will offer more avenues to the practical application of lithium batteries with high electrochemical performance in the future.

Contents

1 Introduction

2 Preparation methods of GPEs

2.1 Solution casting method

2.2 Phase inversion method

2.3 In⁃situ polymerization technology

2.4 UV curing technology

2.5 Electrospining method

3 GPEs in lithium ion batteries

3.1 GPEs based on PVDF

3.2 GPEs based on PVDF⁃HFP

3.3 GPEs based on PMMA

3.4 GPEs based on PAN

3.5 GPEs based on PMIA

3.6 Others

4 Conclusion and outlook