Development of a flexible on-demand coating system for functional polymers (FlexCoat)

The main objective of this project is the development of a flexible on-demand coating system for functional polymers on various substrates with high precision and quality control.

This coating equipment enables the precise coating of various porous substrate electrodes for electrochemical devices with high performance hydrocarbon polymer membranes having a thickness less than 20 microns. The electrochemical devices range from electrolysis, next-generation Li-ion batteries, redox flow batteries to water desalination and wastewater treatment. The challenge, therefore, is to develop a robust (non-contact) coating process that applies a uniform thin membrane to these substrates with different pore sizes. In addition, customer requirements vary greatly in quantity and sizing, which is another flexibility requirement for custom production. To ensure a high quality of the coating, a novel submicrometer inline thickness measurement is developed. In contrast to conventional layer thickness measurements, this method does not rely on the weight or the substrate height and thus ensures the required substrate independence and robustness. The thickness measurement can scan through the sample and distinguish the layers without contact and with the highest precision.