Celgard® and Solupor® commercial macroporous separators
were investigated. These separators have different porous structures.
The influence of the separator used on the electrolyte
resistivity and on the battery capacity at high rate capacities was
evaluated. Most of the commercial porous separators induced
a sharp decrease in the conductivity of the liquid electrolyte.
This conductivity decrease may be associated with the amount
of porosity, the polymer/electrolyte affinity, the size of the pores
and their interconnection. TheNMlfactor of the separators seems
to be a relevant indicator to define a good electrolyte adapted to
high charge rate. In a second paper, a similar analysis will be performed
on macroporous separators prepared by phase inversion
from poly(vinylidene fluoride) polymer