Experimental and computational characterization of carbon fibre based structural battery electrode laminae

David Carlstedt,Florian Rittweger,Kenneth Runesson,Adriana M Navarro-Suárez,Johanna Xu,Shanghong Duan,Fredrik Larsson,Karl-Ragmar Riemschneider,Leif E Asp

doi:10.1016/j.compscitech.2022.109283

David Carlstedt, Florian Rittweger + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2022.109283

Copy DOI

Abstract

In this paper, electrode laminae consisting of carbon fibres embedded in structural battery electrolyte (CF-SBE electrodes) are characterized with respect to their multifunctional (i.e. combined electrochemical and mechanical) performance utilizing experimental and numerical techniques. The studied material is made from commercially available polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibres and a porous SBE matrix/electrolyte, which is composed of two continuous phases: a solid polymer skeleton (vinyl ester-based) and a Li-salt containing liquid electrolyte. Experimental and numerical studies are performed on CF-SBE electrode half-cells, whereby a coupled electro-chemo-mechanical finite element model is exploited. Results show that, similar to traditional batteries, electrode thickness, transport properties of the electrolyte and applied current significantly affect electrochemical performance. For example, increasing the electrode thickness of the studied CF-SBE electrode from 50 μm to 200 μm results in a reduction in specific capacity of approximately 70/95% for an applied current of 30/120 mA g−1 of fibres, respectively. Further, Li-insertion induced longitudinal expansion of carbon fibre electrodes are video microscopically recorded during charge/discharge conditions. In liquid electrolyte the total/reversible longitudinal expansion are found to be 0.85/0.8% while for the CF-SBE electrode the reversible expansion is found to be 0.6%. The fibre expansion in the CF-SBE electrode gives rise to residual strains which is demonstrated numerically. We expect that the utilized computational framework and experimental data open a route to develop high-performing, both mechanically and electrochemically, carbon fibre based battery electrode laminae for future lightweight structural components with energy storage ability.

Highlights

IntroductionA viable route to create efficient lightweight multifunctional com ponents for future electric vehicle and devices is to utilize structural materials with ability to storage energy (e.g. work as battery) [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]
A viable route to create efficient lightweight multifunctional com ponents for future electric vehicle and devices is to utilize structural materials with ability to storage energy [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]. One such solution exploits electrode laminae consisting of carbon fibres embedded in structural battery electrolyte (SBE)
Electrode laminae consisting of carbon fibres embedded in structural battery electrolyte (CF-SBE electrodes) are characterized utilizing experimental and numerical techniques

Summary

Introduction

A viable route to create efficient lightweight multifunctional com ponents for future electric vehicle and devices is to utilize structural materials with ability to storage energy (e.g. work as battery) [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]. One such solution exploits electrode laminae consisting of carbon fibres embedded in structural battery electrolyte (SBE). The char acteristic pore size of the polymer network is roughly in the order of 50–200 nm [22]

Methods

Results

Conclusion