Effects of Electrode Thickness on Three-Dimensional NiCrAl Metal Foam Cathode for Lithium Ion Battery

Abstract

LiFePO4 electrodes using three dimensional NiCrAl alloy metal foam of different electrode thickness are prepared. In order to improve the electrochemical and cycle-life performance of lithium ion batteries, it is important to optimize the electrode thickness and mass loading of active material. As compared to those with thick electrode, the cells with thin electrode exhibit high rate performance and cycle-life behavior, due to the shorter diffusion length of lithium-ion and improved kinetic behavior. Also, cyclic voltammetry curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis indicate that the redox reaction for the thinner electrode occurs much faster, and the charge transfer resistance is much lower. The results of same current density (mA cm-2) show that 450 μm-thickness electrode exhibits superior electrochemical and power performance. It is because the 300 μm-thickness electrode which has the lowest mass loading of active material meant that it carried the highest current rate, and thicker electrodes show higher internal resistance and much poorer kinetic property. Namely, electrode thickness and an amount of active material are difference according to the intended use.

Study of LiCoO2/Li7La3Zr2O12:Ta Interface Degradation in All-Solid-State Lithium Batteries

“…This statement is supported by Song et al, who reported an increase in the total interfacial impedance for cathodes with an enhanced thickness. 51 In addition, the larger amount of interface in the LCO-LLZO:Ta cathode resulted in a significantly higher increase in impedance after cycling compared to the plain LCO cathode. The increase in impedance might be a result of the mechanical or electrochemical degradation of the LCO/LLZO:Ta interface.…”

“…We can assume that the larger LCO/LLZO:Ta interface area (normalized on the geometric area) in the composite cathode leads to increased interfacial impedances. This statement is supported by Song et al, who reported an increase in the total interfacial impedance for cathodes with an enhanced thickness . In addition, the larger amount of interface in the LCO-LLZO:Ta cathode resulted in a significantly higher increase in impedance after cycling compared to the plain LCO cathode.…”

Ultra-Thick Cathodes for High-Energy Lithium-Ion Batteries Based on Aluminium Foams—Microstructural Evolution during Densification and Its Impact on the Electrochemical Properties

“…For example, the foam-type cathodes investigated by Fritsch et al [22], who used NMC111 as active material, show a strong capacity fade at 1C and 2C, as well. In contrast, other works which deal with LFP-based systems exhibit a better capacity retention with the increasing C-rate; however, at the cost of lower cell voltage and thus, reduced energy density [23,25,29]. When the pores of the metal foam are only partially filled with active mass, outstanding rate capability can be archived [22].…”

“…In spite of foam-type electrodes providing many significant advantages, few publications deal with this topic. Some of them consider inter alia the effect of electrode thickness [29] or the impact of the carbon content on the electrochemical performance of the electrode [30]. Even though it is well known that the microstructure of layered electrodes has a huge effect on the electrochemical performance [31][32][33] and Yang et al [34] postulated that the gravimetric and volumetric capacity can be adjusted by controlling the electrode density through a calendaring process, a detailed study of the correlation between electrode microstructure and the electrochemical performance is still missing to the best of our knowledge.…”

Toward High‐Areal‐Capacity Electrodes for Lithium and Sodium Ion Batteries

“…The simplest way is direct slurry interpenetration in carbon matrix [91,92] or metal foams. [88][89][90]98] But it still requires binders to make slurries, which may increase the portion of inactive components and also block electron conduction in electrodes. Directly growing or depositing active materials within the network [87,[93][94][95] is an alternative approach.…”