(298f) Impedimetric Sensing of Vented Volatile Organic Compounds before Thermal Runaway of Li-Ion Batteries

Before the thermal runaway in Li-ion batteries, multiple hazardous and flammable gases including Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are expected to vent. To detect these VOCs/gases quickly and efficiently, Purdue Universities Vilas Pol Energy Research (ViPER) team innovated (1) PEDOT:PSS (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate) based sensor, which is stable up to temperature of 120 degree Celsius. As the PEDOT:PSS based sensor got exposed to various concentrations (5 PPM, 15 PPM, and 30 PPM) of the VOCs, the increase in DC impedance measurement was possible between 1Hz to 1MHz frequency range (2-4).

Principal Component analysis (PCA) was used to classify the responses of the sensor with respect to different analytes or their mixtures (single analyte, binary and ternary mixture) with an accuracy of more than 70%. These preliminary (2-4) research and development activities demonstrated that the initial generation of gases before final thermal runaway of the cells can be tracked in seconds mitigating catastrophic event from occurring by sudden cooling of the entire system or venting the storage area. The application of such gas sensors coupled with the Battery Management System (BMS) would enhance the safety of Li-ion battery by generating early warning of thermal runaway.