Boosting the performances of water-processable LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 cathode with conventional white latex as binder ingredient

Abstract

Transition to aqueous electrode fabrication of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) with green binder is certainly profitable and imperative in terms of economic benefit and environmental wellness. However, aqueous processing of cathode in LIB, especially the ternary LiNixCoyMnzO2 (NCM), is still problematic and novel water-soluble binder should be developed to boost the electrochemical performances of cathode. In this regard, commercially available white latex (WL), cooperating with CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose), is employed as water-processable binder mixture for manufacturing NCM cathode. Interestingly, the prepared NCM cathode assisted by WL/CMC mixture exhibits improved electrochemical performances including better initial reversible capacity of 161.7 mAh g−1 at 0.5 C current density, long-term cyclability with a reversible capacity of 155 mAh g−1 along with high-capacity retention of around 96% after cycling 200 times, and even excellent rate capability, which are superior to those of the conventional counterpart base on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF). Moreover, the NCM|graphite full cell, which is absolutely based on this novel WL binder, also demonstrates the outstanding electrochemical behaviors.