Mitigating the Kinetic Hindrance of the Poly/Single-Crystalline Ni-Rich Cathode-Based Electrode via Formation of the Superior Electronic/Ionic Pathway

Abstract

In previous work, it was confirmed that even if the same cathode active material is used, the performance of the electrode could be improved by solving issues such as the electrochemically inactive areas caused by nonuniform dispersion of the conductive agents, electrolyte penetration blocking caused by agglomerated carbon black, and low electrode porosity. Herein, the use of CNTs, a material with excellent dimensional stability and high electron conductivity (103 S cm–1) as conductive agent, is expected to be a solution that can reduce ion concentration polarization at high C rates by increasing the electrode porosity, as well as maintaining a good electron pathway. Therefore, in this study, we investigate how the addition of CNTs affects the performance of poly/single-crystalline Ni-rich NCM-based cathode electrodes. The results confirm that by adding CNTs to the poly/single-crystalline Ni-rich NCM-based electrode under high-rate (540 mA g–1) cycle conditions, the cycle retentions were improved by 3% in 50 cycles.