Lithium ion battery separators and electrodes

A lithium ion battery, comprising:

• a positive electrode;
• a negative electrode;
• a microporous polymer separator soaked in an electrolyte solution, the microporous polymer separator disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode;
• and
• a polymeric chelating agent including a poly(undecylenyl-macrocycle) wherein:
• the poly(undecylenyl-macrocycle) includes a polymer backbone, a first functional group including an ester or an amide, and a macrocycle that
• is a chelating agent;
• and
• the polymeric chelating agent is i) deposited onto a surface of the positive electrode, or ii) incorporated as the microporous polymer separator, or iii) deposited onto a surface of a porous polymer membrane to form the microporous polymer separator.

A method of forming a polymeric chelating agent for a lithium ion battery, the method comprising:

• polymerizing trimethylsilyl undecylenate via Ziegler-Natta polymerization in the presence of a Ziegler-Natta catalyst to form poly(undecylenic acid);
• and
• functionalizing the polyundecylenic acid with a chelating agent by:
• reacting the polyundecylenic acid with thionyl chloride and pyridine to form poly(undecylenoyl chloride);
• forming a reaction mixture of the poly(undecylenoyl chloride) and a chelating agent precursor in salt form;
• and
• exposing the reaction mixture to an aqueous base to hydrolyze any unreacted chloride groups of poly(undecylenoyl chloride);
• whereby the functionalization process attaches the chelating agent, through any of ester and amide groups, to the poly(undecylenoyl chloride) to form a poly(undecylenyl-macrocycle) that includes a polymer backbone, a first functional group including an amide or an ester, and a macrocycle that is a chelating agent, wherein the poly(undecylenyl-macrocycle) forms a microporous film.