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Separators for lithium batteries based on a sheetlike flexible substrate provided with a plurality of openings and having a porous inorganic electrically insulating coating on and in the substrate, the coating closing the openings in the substrate, the material of the substrate being selected from w

Separators for lithium batteries based on a sheetlike flexible substrate provided with a plurality of openings and having a porous inorganic electrically insulating coating on and in the substrate, the coating closing the openings in the substrate, the material of the substrate being selected from woven or non-woven electrically nonconductive polymeric fibers and the inorganic electrically conductive coating comprising metal oxide particles, the separators being electrical insulators and having lithium ion conducting properties without the presence of an electrolyte, the separators comprising at least one lithium ion conducting inorganic material which may also contain organic groups chemically bonded to the inorganic coating, which separators, after filling them with an additional lithium ion conducting electrolyte, have much higher ion conduction than conventional combinations of non-lithium ion conducting separators and electrolyte; a process for producing the separators; and batteries, such as high power lithium batteries, containing them.

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What is claimed is: 1. A separator for high power lithium batteries comprising a sheetlike flexible substrate having a multiplicity of openings and having a porous inorganic electrically insulating coating on and in said substrate, said coating closing the openings in the substrate, the material of

What is claimed is: 1. A separator for high power lithium batteries comprising a sheetlike flexible substrate having a multiplicity of openings and having a porous inorganic electrically insulating coating on and in said substrate, said coating closing the openings in the substrate, the material of said substrate being selected from non-woven electrically nonconductive polymeric fibers and said inorganic electrically insulating coating comprising particles, wherein the separator is an electrical insulator and has lithium ion conducting properties without the presence of an electrolyte and wherein the separator comprises at least one lithium ion conducting material and which lithium ion conducting material is chemically bonded to the inorganic coating, wherein the lithium ion conducting material is an organosilicon compound of formula [(R1O)3Si--R2]M+, wherein R1 is methyl or ethyl, M is either H or Li, and R2 is a bis(perfluoromethylsulfonyl)amide group of formula--CF2--SO2--N--SO2--CF3--; or an organosilicon compound of formula [{(RO)y(R4)z}aSi--{R3--SO 3-}b]M+ or [{(RO)y(R4)z}Si--R3--PR5O 2-]M+, wherein R3 is a linear or branched alkylene group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, a cycloalkyl group having 5 to 8 carbon atoms or a unit of formula wherein l, n, and m are respectively each a number from 0 to 12, M is an H+ or a lithium ion, y is a number between 1 and 3, z is a number betweer 0 and 2, y+z=3, a is a number between 1 and 3, b=4-a, R and R4 are identical or different and are methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl or H, and R5 is H, OH, OM or R3; or Li2Zr(O3P--R--SO3)2 or Li4Zr(O3P--R--PO3)2, wherein R is a perfluorinated, partly fluorinated or nonfluorinated aryl or alkyl chain having 1-12 carbon atoms. 2. The separator claim 1, wherein the particles of the inorganic electrically insulating coating comprise particles of oxides of the elements Al, Zr and/or Si. 3. The separator of claim 1, wherein the at least one lithium ion conducting inorganic material is present as an admixture in the structure of the separator in addition to said coating. 4. The separator of claim 1, wherein said particles are coated with said at least one lithium ion conducting material. 5. The separator of claim 1, wherein the inner and/or outer surfaces of the particles present in the separator are coated with a layer of the lithium ion conducting material. 6. The separator of claim 5, wherein the layer has a thickness of from 10 to 100 nm. 7. A process for producing a separator having lithium ion conducting properties as claimed in claim 1, comprising making a sheetlike flexible substrate having a multiplicity of openings and having a porous inorganic electrically insulating coating on and in said substrate, the material of said substrate being selected from non-woven electrically non-conductive polymeric fibers, which comprises a sheetlike flexible substrate having a multiplicity of openings being provided with a coating on and in said substrate the material of said substrate being selected from non-woven electrically nonconductive polymeric fibres and said coating being a porous electroinsulating ceramic coating and using a compound having lithium ion conducting properties to produce the separator. 8. The process of claim 7, wherein the separator having lithium ion conducting properties is obtained by treating a separator which does not have lithium ion conducting properties with at least one ion conducting material or with at least one material which following a further treatment has ion conducting properties. 9. The process of claim 7, wherein the treatment of the separator with at least one lithium ion conducting material or at least one material which following a further treatment has lithium ion conducting properties takes place by impregnating, dipping, spreadcoating, rollercoating, knife coating, spraying or other coating techniques. 10. The process of claim 7, wherein the separator following treatment with at least one lithium ion conducting material or with at least one material which following a further treatment has lithium ion conducting properties is thermally treated. 11. The process of claim 10, wherein the thermal treatment is conducted at a temperature of from 50 to 280° C. 12. The process of claim 7, wherein the material used to produce the inorganic porous coating is a material which has lithium ion conducting properties. 13. The process of claim 12, wherein the material used to produce the inorganic porous coating is a material selected from the group consisting of lithium phosphate zirconate glasses, α-and/or γ-lithium zirconium phosphates, zirconium phosphates doped with lithium sulfonates, zirconium phosphates doped with immobilized lithium sulfonates and mixtures thereof. 14. A lithium battery comprising a separator as claimed in claim 1. 15. A lithium battery as claimed in claim 14, wherein the separator is impregnated with an electrolyte. 16. A lithium battery as claimed in claim 15, wherein a solution of LiPF6, LiBF4, LiClO4, LiAsF6, LiCF3SO3, LiClO4, lithium bisoxalatoborate (Libob) and/or lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide (BTA, LiN(SO2CF3)2) in ethylene carbonate (EC), dimethyl carbonate (DC), propylene carbonate (PC), methyl propyl carbonate (PMC), butylene carbonate (BC), diethyl carbonate (DEC), γ-butyrolactone(γ-BL), SOCl2 and/or SO2 is used as electrolyte. 17. A battery which comprises a separator as claimed in claim 1. 18. The separator of claim 1, wherein said at least one lithium ion conducting material comprises the compound of formula [(R1O)3Si--R2]M+. 19. The separator of claim 1, wherein said at least one lithium ion conducting material comprises the compound of formula [{(RO)y(R4)z}aSi--{R3--SO 3-}b]M+. 20. The separator of claim 1, wherein said at least one lithium ion conducting material comprises the compound of formula [{(RO)y(R4)z}Si--R3--PR5O 2-]M+. 21. The separator of claim 1, wherein said at least one lithium ion conducting material comprises the compound of formula Li2Zr(O3P--R--SO3)2. 22. The separator of claim 1, wherein said at least one lithium ion conducting material comprises the compound of formula Li4Zr(O3P--R--PO3)2. 23. The separator of claim 1, wherein said at least one lithium ion conducting material comprises trihydroxysilylpropylsulfonic acid. 24. The separator of claim 1, wherein said at least one lithium ion conducting material comprises trihydroxysilylpropylphosphonic acid. 25. The separator of claim 1, wherein said at least one lithium ion conducting material comprises trihydroxysilylperfluorooctylsulfonic acid.