Solvent-free dry electrode fabrication for carbon neutrality and high-performance lithium-ion batteries
A study conducted by Ayaka Yonaga et al., in collaboration with Kyushu University, was published in the Journal of Power Sources.
Electrodes for lithium-ion batteries are fabricated by coating slurry of material powder dispersed in a solvent. Considering that the solvent is not necessary for the electrode, it is removed via drying after being used for dispersion and coating; however, the drying process emits large amounts of CO2. Therefore, we focused on a dry coating method in which the electrodes are fabricated by coating the material powders directly, without using the solvents. The dry coating method not only reduces CO2 emissions but also has the potential to create electrode structures different from conventional method by controlling the arrangement of the material powders, thereby enhancing battery performance. Therefore, we controlled the arrangement of materials by powder mixing and investigated the effects of such materials on the microstructure of electrodes and battery performance. Electrochemical evaluation and electrode structure analysis revealed that a good balance between short- and long-range conduction pathways can be achieved when the material powders are moderately mixed, resulting in excellent battery performance when discharged at high rates. Our study contributes to achieving the carbon neutralization of the electrode manufacturing process and improvement of the battery performance.
Title: Effects of Dry Powder Mixing on Electrochemical Performance of Lithium-ion Battery Electrode Using Solvent-free Dry Forming Process
Authors: Yonaga, A., Kawauchi, S., Mori, Y., Xuanchen, L., Ishikawa, S., Nunoshita, K., Inoue, G., Matsunaga, T.
Journal Name: Journal of Power Sources
Published: August 2, 2023
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2023.233466