Highly-structured, additive-free lithium-ion cathodes by freeze-casting technology

Journal
Ceramic forum international  
Volume
92
Issue
4
Start Page
E39
End Page
E43
Citation
CFI Ceramic Forum International 92 (4): E39-E43 (2015-04-01)
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84991707943
Publisher
Göller
Storing large amounts of energy for mobile applications is an ongoing problem in research and development. This especially holds for transportation purposes where the charging and discharging profiles can be rather fast, a characteristic that physically contradicts high effective capacities. Furthermore, conventional fabrication methods for lithium-ion cathodes include the use of significant amounts of additives to consolidate the active materials powders without sintering. These additives hinder the movement of ions within the battery and represent dead volume that is lost to the purpose of energy storage. In the following study, the technology called freeze-casting or ice- Templating was applied to create additive-free, sintered cathodes with highly aligned porosity was applied. By controlling and varying the freezing rate in the freeze-casting process, the solids loading in the freezing slurry, and the sintering parameters, it was possible to obtain cathodes that solely contain active material and highly aligned pores that are fast channels for transporting lithium ions. These cathodes are highly promising for providing a unique combination of high capacity as well as fast charging and discharging capabilities.
Subjects
3-D structuring
Batteries
Energy storage
Freeze-casting
DDC Class
600: Technik