(Digital Presentation) 3D Electrochemical Model Revealing Electrode Manufacturing Parameters’ Effects on Battery Performance

Abstract

Electrode manufacturing is in the core of Li-ion battery manufacturing process. The electrode mesostructure and the associated electrochemical performance is determined by the adopted manufacturing parameters. However, in view of the strong interdependencies between these parameters, evaluating their influence on the performance is not a trivial task, and our ERC-funded ARTISTIC project1,2 is providing a theoretical framework to rationalize and optimize the manufacturing process of Li-ion battery cells. Over the years, the discussion of importance of electrode mesostructure in cell behavior has become increasingly lively. Many modeling researchers have been conducted studies to explain the influences of electrode mesostructure on its electrochemical performance3–6. However, many studies did not include manufacturing parameters as inputs, which hinders universality in regards of these electrochemical models’ application. With the aim of going into the scope of real electrode manufacturing parameters, we present here a calibrated 3D-resolved electrochemical model for NMC111-electrodes which reveals how slurry formulation and compression rate affect the electrode performance. A series of electrodes with different formulations and compression rates were manufactured. Corresponding models were built based on the basis of these manufacturing parameters, using the manufacturing process simulation workflow previously developed in ARTISTIC7. The results of simulations and experiments were compared individually. We found that one of the major factors affecting the electrode performance is the carbon-binder domain (CBD) distribution, which highly changes the conductive network within the electrode. A well-connected conductive network throughout the electrode is vital for ensuring full utilization of active material. Other features such as porosity, tortuosity factor, active material particle packing, and etc. also play important roles in different ways. This work provides systematic insights on the essence of how electrode manufacturing process takes effect on electrode performance, through a digital twin experimentally validated under multiple experimental conditions.References Artistic http://www.erc-artistic.eu/. Artistic http://www.erc-artistic.eu/scientific-production/publications.X. Lu et al., Energy Environ. Sci., 14, 5929–5946 (2021).M. E. Ferraro, B. L. Trembacki, V. E. Brunini, D. R. Noble, and S. A. Roberts, J. Electrochem. Soc., 167, 013543 (2020).X. Lu et al., Nat. Commun., 11, 2079 (2020).L. S. Kremer et al., Energy Technol., 8, 1900167 (2020).T. Lombardo et al., Batter. Supercaps, 5, e202100324 (2022).