Thermally-Drawn Fiber Including Electrochemically Active Gels

A fiber comprising:

• a fiber body including a polymeric fiber body material and having a longitudinal-axis fiber body length;
• a plurality of gel domains disposed within the fiber body along at least a portion of the longitudinal-axis fiber body length, each gel domain in the plurality of gel domains including a porous polymer host matrix material and including an ionically conducting liquid solvent component that is entrapped in molecular structure of the polymer host matrix material and that is disposed in interstices of the polymer host material matrix;
• at least one of the gel domains being disposed within the fiber body between and in direct contact with two electrochemically active electrode gel domains, each electrochemically active electrode gel domain including electrically conducting particles dispersed in the polymer host material matrix;
• a separate polymeric electrical contact disposed in direct contact with each one of the two electrochemically active electrode gel domains and extending the fiber body length;
• and
• a separate current collector disposed in direct contact with each polymeric electrical contact and extending the fiber body length.

A fiber comprising:

• a fiber body including a polymeric fiber body material and having a longitudinal-axis fiber body length;
• a plurality of gel domains disposed within the fiber body along at least a portion of the longitudinal-axis fiber body length, each gel domain in the plurality of gel domains including a porous polymer host matrix material and including an ionically conducting liquid solvent component that is entrapped in molecular structure of the polymer host matrix material and that is disposed in interstices of the polymer host material matrix;
• at least one of the gel domains being disposed within the fiber body between and in direct contact with an electrochemically active anode gel domain and an electrochemically active cathode gel domain, the electrochemically active anode gel domain and the electrochemically active cathode domain each including electrically conducting particles dispersed in the polymer host material matrix, the electrochemically active anode gel domain further including lithium titanate and the electrochemically active cathode gel domain further including lithium ion phosphate;
• a separate polymeric electrical contact disposed in direct contact with each one of the electrochemically active electrode gel domains and extending the fiber body length;
• and
• a separate current collector disposed in direct contact with each polymeric electrical contact and extending the fiber body length.

A method for forming a fiber comprising:

• assembling a preform comprising fiber body material and a plurality of gel domains that are disposed at central preform sites within the fiber body material in a transverse cross section of the preform, each gel domain in the plurality of gel domains including a porous polymer host matrix material and including an ionically conducting liquid gel component that is entrapped in molecular structure of the host matrix material and that is disposed in interstices of the host material matrix, at least one of the gel domains being disposed between and in direct contact with two electrochemically active electrode gel domains, each electrochemically active electrode gel domain including electrically conducting particles dispersed in the polymer host material matrix, and with a separate polymeric electrical contact disposed in direct contact with each one of the two electrochemically active electrode gel domains;
• feeding at least one electrically conducting wire into the preform, in direct contact with a polymeric electrical contact in the preform;
• and
• thermally drawing the assembled preform into a fiber at a thermal draw temperature at which the fiber body material has a viscosity that is greater than a viscosity of each gel domain in the plurality of gel domains and at which each gel domain in the plurality of gel domains is a viscous liquid.

A method for forming a fiber comprising:

• assembling a preform comprising fiber body material and a plurality of gel domains that are disposed at central preform sites within the fiber body material in a transverse cross section of the preform, each gel domain in the plurality of gel domains including a porous polymer host matrix material and including an ionically conducting liquid gel component that is entrapped in molecular structure of the host matrix material and that is disposed in interstices of the host material matrix, at least one of the gel domains being disposed between and in direct contact with an electrochemically active anode gel domain and an electrochemically active cathode gel domain, each of the electrochemically active anode and cathode gel domains including electrically conducting particles dispersed in the polymer host material matrix and including active particles, and with a separate polymeric electrical contact disposed in direct contact with each of the electrochemically active anode and cathode gel domains;
• feeding at least one electrically conducting wire into the preform, in direct contact with a polymeric electrical contact in the preform;
• and
• thermally drawing the assembled preform into a fiber at a thermal draw temperature at which the fiber body material has a viscosity that is greater than a viscosity of each gel domain in the plurality of gel domains and at which each gel domain in the plurality of gel domains is a viscous liquid.