A screen-printing method for manufacturing of current collectors for structural batteries

Abstract

Structural carbon fibre composite batteries are a type of multifunctional batteries that combine the energy storage capability of a battery with the load-carrying ability of a structural material. To extract the current from the structural battery cell, current collectors are needed. However, current collectors are expensive, hard to connect to the electrode material and add mass to the system. Further, attaching the current collector to the carbon fibre electrode must not affect the electrochemical properties negatively or requires time-consuming, manual steps. This paper presents a proof-of-concept method for screen-printing of current collectors for structural carbon fibre composite batteries using silver conductive paste. Current collectors are screen-printed directly on spread carbon fibre tows and a polycarbonate carrier film. Experimental results show that the electrochemical performance of carbon fibre vs lithium metal half-cells with the screen-printed collectors is similar to reference half-cells using metal foil and silver adhered metal-foil collectors. The screen-printed current collectors fulfil the requirements for electrical conductivity, adhesion to the fibres and flexible handling of the fibre electrode. The screen-printing process is highly automatable and allows for cost-efficient upscaling to large scale manufacturing of arbitrary and complex current collector shapes. Hence, the screen-printing process shows a promising route to realization of high performing current collectors in structural batteries and potentially in other types of energy storage solutions.

A critical review of structural supercapacitors and outlook on future research challenges

“…Most research has used copper foil side strips as contacts, with little consideration having been given to the influence of current collection on device performance. Studies on structural batteries have used screen printing of conductive inks to develop tailored geometries of current collectors [135]. As illustrated in Fig.…”

Learn from nature: Bio‐inspired structure design for lithium‐ion batteries

“…97,98 Flexural properties have been believed to be important mechanical parameters for structural batteries, because bending is a common deformation state in electric vehicle. 99 Conventional lithium-ion batteries are usually with low flexural modulus around 300 MPa, which results from easy sliding and detaching between electrolyte and electrode layers. 100 In order to prevent sliding effect inside structural batteries, Yang et al reported robust interface between electrode and electrolyte inspired by tree roots, which can stabilize soil and trees against external wind force (Figure 4A).…”

“…Structural batteries have become hot research concept in electric vehicle industry owing to high energy density and good mechanical properties, which enable stable power supply under various deformations 97,98 . Flexural properties have been believed to be important mechanical parameters for structural batteries, because bending is a common deformation state in electric vehicle 99 . Conventional lithium‐ion batteries are usually with low flexural modulus around 300 MPa, which results from easy sliding and detaching between electrolyte and electrode layers 100 .…”

Multifunctional design, feasibility and requirements for structural power composites in future electric air taxis

“…For SPCs, such metal foils are not necessary nor optimal, and alternative current collector architectures which require only partial coverage with metal foil can save significant device mass. 14…”