Spray printing and optimization of anodes and cathodes for high performance Li-Ion batteries

Journal article

A spray printing manufacturing approach to lithium-ion batteries was investigated with a focus on minimizing inactive fractions and maximizing energy and power densities of printable electrodes. Using a lithium titanate based anode initially and comparing with conventional electrodes, the effects of conductivity enhancer and binder fractions, post-calendaring effects, different electrode manufacturing methods, conductivity enhancer types and electrode thicknesses were explored, and optimum electrode structures were identified. These insights were then applied to a lithium iron phosphate based cathode, and full spray printed lithium titanate/lithium iron phosphate cell configurations were investigated. Notably, the full-cell battery with a 1:1 capacity ratio of lithium titanate to lithium iron phosphate had a stable specific energy density of ∼300 Wh/kg and a power density of ∼2500 W/kg, showing the promise of layer-by-layer spray printing to realize fully the intrinsic properties of electrode materials in lithium-ion battery cells.

Authors: Lee, S; Huang, C; Johnston, C; Grant, P

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Journal: Electrochimica Acta
• Volume: 292
• Pages: 546-557
• Publication date: 2018-09-25
• Acceptance date: 2018-09-20
• DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2018.09.132
• EISSN: 1873-3859
• ISSN: 0013-4686
• Language: English
• Keywords: lithium titanate; layer-by-layer structuring; spray printing; lithium-ion battery; lithium iron phosphate