Electrophoretic deposition of Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ nanoparticles with a novel additive for Li-ion microbatteries

Abstract

Electrophoretic deposition is presented as a handy and cost-effective technique to transfer nano-sized (powdered) electrode materials into thin-or thick-films for electrochemical energy storage applications.Electrophoretic deposition of Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 nanoparticles is studied to prepare thick films as anodes forLi-ion microbatteries with MgCl 2 additivesfor the first timeas an efficient charging agent and a source of binder simultaneously. Electrochemical measurements in lithium test cells confirmed that the prepared thick-film Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 electrode has good discharge (lithiation) capacities and cyclability, as well as good electronic and Li + transport properties. Indeed, electrophoretic deposition is demonstrated to be a suitable alternative to prepare self-supported micro-or nano-structured Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 for Li-ion microbatteries.

Electrophoretic Deposition for Lithium‐Ion Battery Electrode Manufacture

“…[9] A recent comprehensive review on EPD investigations in the fields of battery, supercapacitor and solid oxide fuel cell is available. [11] Other authors have reported inter-particle connectivity by compressing EPD electrode, [12] formation of sandwich-like layered structure by controlling EPD electrolyte recipes [13] and cycling performance improvement by annealing EPD electrode. In EPD technology, the mass loading of deposited materials and film thickness can be readily controlled by varying the applied voltage, colloidal electrolyte composition and deposition time.…”

“…Some reports have introduced modifications to manipulate packing density by EPD and then improve electrochemical properties. [11] Other authors have reported inter-particle connectivity by compressing EPD electrode, [12] formation of sandwich-like layered structure by controlling EPD electrolyte recipes [13] and cycling performance improvement by annealing EPD electrode. [14] While these early studies are useful for identifying the potential of EPD for energy storage electrode manufacture, we are still some ways off to producing practical electrodes which demand thicker films of coating layers to provide useful capacity for actual applications.…”

Self‐Supporting and Binder‐Free Anode Film Composed of Beaded Stream‐Like Li4Ti5O12 Nanoparticles for High‐Performance Lithium‐Ion Batteries

“…The mass of the BLTO NPs film with an area of 1 cm 2 and thickness of 7 μm is 1.25 mg, giving a tap density of 1.78 g cm −3 . As the density of the pure LTO phase is 3.42 g cm −3 , the overall packing factor of the BLTO NPs film is calculated to be about 0.52, which is larger than that of previously reported LTO . The large overall packing factor yields a large battery capacity/weight ratio and volumetric capacity, which bodes well for many applications.…”

Promising Electrode and Electrolyte Materials for High‐Energy‐Density Thin‐Film Lithium Batteries

“…[236] However, the epitaxial LTO film deposited on MgO (111) single-crystal substrate shows higher ionic conductivity of 2.5 9 10 À5 S cm À1 at 230 °C and higher activation energy of 0.79 eV compared to polycrystalline LTO film, which is attributed to the elimination of grain boundaries. [237] LTO films have been made by various routes including electrostatic spray, [238] electrophoretic deposition, [239] metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, [240] flame spray pyrolysis technique, [241] 3D printing, [17] and sol-gel methods, [242,243] providing the potential application of LTO film anode in TFLBs through different pathways.…”

“…LTO films have been made by various routes including electrostatic spray, [ 238 ] electrophoretic deposition, [ 239 ] metal‐organic chemical vapor deposition, [ 240 ] flame spray pyrolysis technique, [ 241 ] 3D printing, [ 17 ] and sol‐gel methods, [ 242,243 ] providing the potential application of LTO film anode in TFLBs through different pathways.…”