Laser-Structured Electrodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

Insufficient energy density is one of the barriers for widespread application of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Increasing energy density relies on developing novel active materials with higher energy density and/or increasing the active material ratio via electrode engineering [1]. One natural strategy is to increase the energy density by increasing the electrode thickness, which reduces the fraction of some inactive components such as current collectors and separators. However, thick electrodes suffer from electrolyte depletion under high discharge rates and low power density. As a result, electrodes are divided into two categories—thin electrodes (ca. 50 µm) for high power application and thick electrode (> 100 µm) for high energy application [2]. This work reports a design in thick electrodes with 3D micro-structures enabled by laser processing, which minimizes the electrode tortuosity and improves the lithium ion diffusion kinetics. This novel design enables high energy and high power densities for LIBs.