Manufacturing techniques for improved rate capacity of thick electrodes by tailored electrode structures
Ejikeme Raphael Ezeigwe, Ronan N. Dunne, Simon Birger Byremo Solberg, Jacob J. Lamb, Julia Wind, Odne Stokke Burheim
Abstract
Increasing the specific energy of Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), has been improved by increasing the portion of active mass and pre-lithiation. The former consists of both increasing the cell size and electrode layer thickness. Increasing the electrode thickness typically comes at the expense of lowered power capacity. This is because the capacity during high-intensity cycling (high c-rates) is limited for thicker electrodes compared to thinner ones. This is typically seen by studying capacity retention. Several efforts have been made to improve thick electrode power density by designing electrodes with novel architecture, designing porosity gradients, and, thereby, tortuosity. This paper summarises the different types of efforts made to design porosity gradients. Here, we present a comprehensive review of such efforts with a particular focus on manufacturing techniques for making corrugations in the electrodes. • Thicker electrodes improve specific energy density. • Structured or corrugated electrodes improve specific power • Templating and non-templating techniques optimise Li-ion transport. • Structured electrode architectures improve ion transport • Advanced manufacturing techniques are essential for high-energy LIBs.