Coating conducting polymers onto active cathode materials has been proven to mitigate issues at high current densities stemming from the limited conducting abilities of the metal-oxides. In the present study, a carbon coating was applied onto nickel-rich NMC622 via polymerisation of furfuryl alcohol, followed by calcination, for the first time. The formation of a uniform amorphous carbon layer was observed with scanning- and transmission-electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The stability of the coated active material was confirmed and the electrochemical behaviour as well as the cycling stability was evaluated. The impact of the heat treatment on the electrochemical performance was studied systematically and was shown to improve cycling and high current performance alike. In-depth investigations of polymer coated samples show that the improved performance can be correlated with the calcination temperatures. In particular, a heat treatment at 400 °C leads to enhanced reversibility and capacity retention even after 400 cycles. At 10C, the discharge capacity for carbon coated NMC increases by nearly 50% compared to uncoated samples. This study clearly shows for the first time the synergetic effects of a furfuryl polymer coating and subsequent calcination leading to improved electrochemical performance of nickel-rich NMC622.
Solid-state batteries (SSBs) are gaining attention as they promise to provide better safety and a higher energy density than conventional liquid electrolyte batteries. Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) are promising candidates due to their flexibility providing better interfacial contact between electrodes and the electrolyte. However, SPEs exhibit very low ionic conductivity at ambient temperatures, which prevents their practical use in batteries. Herein, a simple and effective technique of hot press rolling is demonstrated to improve ionic conductivity and, hence, the performance of polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (PVDF-HFP)-based solid polymer electrolyte. Applying hot press rolling to the electrolyte membrane induced structural changes in the grain boundaries, which resulted in a reduction in the crystallinity of the material and, hence, an increase in the amorphous phase of the material, which eased the movement of the lithium ions within the material. This technique also improved the surface of the membrane, making it homogeneous and smoother, which resulted in better interfacial contact between the electrodes and electrolyte. Electrochemical tests were carried out on electrolyte membranes treated with and without hot press rolling to evaluate the effect of the treatment. The hot pressed electrolyte membrane showed significant improvements in its ionic conductivity and transference number. The cycling performance of the LFP/Li batteries using a hot press rolled electrolyte was also evaluated, which gave a specific discharge capacity of 134 mAh/g at 0.1 C. These results demonstrate that hot press rolling can have a significant effect on the electrochemical performance of solid polymer electrolytes.
Lithium ion batteries (LiBs) continue to be the most advanced technology in the battery systems as the world rushes to meet the diverse and expanding demands of the energy storage solutions. Research institutions, academia and industries requires a safer, high-performance and cheaper LiBs to accelerate the transition from oil-based to an electrical-based economy. Because of some interdependent electrochemical kinetics involved in the LiB chemistry, and time it takes for the fabrication process it became one of the challenging aspects in this modern day life as it is time consuming and needs to be updated with upcoming materials and methodologies[1]. To overcome these challenges quickly, introduction of digital tools [2] which can optimize the parameters of making LiBs are being researched and are trying to implement them in the battery manufacturing industry. Typically, the state of art manufacturing of batteries is a sequence of intermittent steps like slurry preparation, coating and drying, electrode cutting, calendaring, stacking pouch cell formation, electrolyte filling, sealing and mechanical and electrochemical testing which have to be precisely controlled and optimize each dependent parameters carefully and reorganize them for the fabrication to adopt to new systems which takes a lot of effort and machine handling for new innovative battery technologies. Automation of this manufacturing process with Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine learning(ML) or Internet of Things (IoT) is the new way of approach [3]. These approaches can help the research and battery manufacturing plants to meet the demands of cost effectiveness, sustainability, time needs and scalability. Digitalization of these techniques on one hand can reduce the time to market and provide a profitable manufacturing and on the other hand it can guide the cell prototyping and advanced cell chemistry to the new manufacturing tools in the virtual way. Thus the designing tools cost, prototyping cost also can be reduced. The abstract reviews both experimental and computational approach to undergo smooth transition in the battery manufacturing process. References Witt, D. et al. Myth and Reality of a Universal Lithium-Ion Battery Electrode Design Optimum: A Perspective and Case Study. Energy Technol. 9, (2021). Ramakrishna, S., Khong, T. C. & Leong, T. K. Smart Manufacturing. Procedia Manuf. 12, 128–131 (2017). dos Reis, G., Strange, C., Yadav, M. & Li, S. Lithium-ion battery data and where to find it. Energy AI 5, (2021).
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