Geometric Characteristics of Three Dimensional Reconstructed Anode Electrodes of Lithium Ion Batteries

Abstract

Abstract:The realistic three dimensional (3D) microstructure of lithium ion battery (LIB) electrode plays a key role in studying the effects of inhomogeneous microstructures on the performance of LIBs. However, the complexity of realistic microstructures imposes a significant computational cost on numerical simulation of large size samples. In this work, we used tomographic data obtained for a commercial LIB graphite electrode to evaluate the geometric characteristics of the reconstructed electrode microstructure. Based on the analysis of geometric properties, such as porosity, specific surface area, tortuosity, and pore size distribution, a representative volume element (RVE) that retains the geometric characteristics of the electrode material was obtained for further numerical studies. In this work, X-ray micro-computed tomography (CT) with 0.56 μm resolution was employed to capture the inhomogeneous porous microstructures of LIB anode electrodes. The Sigmoid transform function was employed to convert the initial raw tomographic images to binary images. Moreover, geometric characteristics of an anode electrode after 2400 cycles at the charge/discharge rate of 1 C were compared with those of a new anode electrode to investigate morphological change of the electrode. In general, the cycled electrode shows larger porosity, smaller tortuosity, and similar specific surface area compared to the new electrode. OPEN ACCESSEnergies 2014, 7 2559

Numerical reconstruction of microstructure of graphite anode of lithium-ion battery

“…As to the pore size, the sphere contact approach [45] is used for calculations in this paper, of which the diameter is calculated with euclidean distance transition [46,47]. By the statistical analysis, the relative volume (the ratio of the volume of each radius pore to the total pore volume) distribution of different size pore is obtained.…”

Economic and Technical Aspects of Flexible Storage Photovoltaic Systems in Europe

“…In order to achieve higher density, new material structures can be utilized: graphene as a carbon allotrope [52], Toyota's lithium sulfide solid-state battery [53], gold nanowiring of batteries [54], 3D reconstructed anodes and cathodes in lithium batteries [55], or just new architecture of Li-ion batteries [56]. The last three types are connected to 3D printing, which shows that combining materials science with new technologies can also lead to new inventions.…”

Geometric and Electrochemical Characteristics of LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 Electrode with Different Calendering Conditions

“…In addition to electrode material's electrochemical properties, the microstructure of composite electrodes determined by the fabrication process also plays a critical role in determining the performance of a LIB [1]. However, the impact of fabrication process on the performance of LIBs has not been widely explored [2].…”

“…Calendering is a process used in battery industry to adjust the porosity and thickness of electrode, smooth the surface roughness, and enhance conductivity. To this end, some research work has been done to study the impact of calendering process on electrochemical properties of LIB electrodes [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. For instance, Zheng et al investigated calendering effects on the physical and electrochemical properties of LiNi 1/3 Mn 1/3 Co 1/3 O 2 (NMC) cathode [3,7].…”