Ag-Coated Cu/Polylactic Acid Composite Filament for Lithium and Sodium-Ion Battery Current Collector Three-Dimensional Printing via Thermoplastic Material Extrusion

Abstract

This article focuses on the development of polylactic acid– (PLA-) based thermoplastic composite filament for its use, once 3D printed via thermoplastic material extrusion (TME), as current collector at the negative electrode side of a lithium-ion battery or sodium-ion battery. High electronic conductivity is achieved through the introduction of Ag-coated Cu charges, while appropriate mechanical performance to allow printability was maintained through the incorporation of poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether average Mn ∼ 500 (PEGDME500) as a plasticizer into the PLA polymer matrix. Herein, thermal, electrical, morphological, electrochemical, and printability characteristics are discussed thoroughly. While Ag-Li alloy formation is reported at 0.1V upon cycling, its use with active materials such as Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) or Li2-terephthalate (Li2TP) operating at a plateau at higher potential is demonstrated. Furthermore, its ability to be used with negative electrode active material of sodium-ion battery technology in a wide potential window is demonstrated.

3D Printing Enables Customizable Batteries

“…The current collector is used to collect and transfer electrons between the active material layer and the external circuit. In 3D printed batteries, highly conductive metal inks (Au, [54] Ag, [76] Cu [77] and Ni [78] ) have often been printed to create usable current collectors. For example, Wang et al [78] developed a transform-printing strategy to produce an interdigitated Au/ Ni current collector by combining stereolithography with electroless deposition (Figure 12a) This novel fabrication meth- od was compatible with both paper and plastic substrates, and the resulting Au/Ni pattern had good mechanical flexibility.…”

Optimization of Ionogel Polymer Electrolytes Composition for Their Best Performance in Electric Double Layer Capacitor

“…Additionally, for several of the synthesized ionogels, no crystallization of the ionic liquid was observed in the studied temperature range. These are ionogels obtained by polymerization of the compositions always containing TATT and without (samples 4-7) or containing a low concentration of thiol (samples 11,12,14). It therefore contains an excess of TATT monomer which is homopolymerized but only to a small extent.…”

“…Photopolymerization of multifunctional monomers is an easy and scalable technique useful for the preparation of GPEs [12] . This method is a very widely used in industrial processes for many applications, including the manufacture of SPEs, large‐scale grid storage systems, [13] battery current collector [14] and even conductive varnishes or protective coatings of various surfaces [15] and it is used in 3D printed batteries and supercapacitors [16] . This method provides an easy and quick way to manufacture a highly cross‐linked polymer, however the high speed response and a significant effect of exothermic reactions may be reflected in the structure of the material [17] .…”

Photo-Responsive Doped 3D-Printed Copper Electrodes for Water Splitting: Refractory One-Pot Doping Dramatically Enhances the Performance

“…Nevertheless, the required activity is often low, and post-printing treatment is required for optimizing the functionality and activity of the printed parts . Recently, incorporating a high load of metal particles in PLA enabled the FDM 3D printing of copper/PLA objects, providing high thermal and electrical conductivity. − However, devices printed with commercial metal/PLA filaments are often electrically insulating, and the removal of the non-conductive PLA and the sintering of the metal particles with temperatures around the melting point of the metal are required to obtain conductive parts. − For this sintering process, the printed object is packed in a refractory material to prevent oxidation reactions, and to keep the 3D-printed part in shape until the particles are fused, and the object is cooled down to form a stable structure. Common refractory materials are graphite or Al 2 O 3 ; in principle, however, any material sustaining the sintering temperature can be used.…”