Tab engineering-mediated resistance of flexible lithium-ion batteries for high output current

Abstract

Tab engineering enables electrons transferred quickly for significantly increased output current of flexible pouch cell with desirable power and energy density has been demonstrated for practical applications. • The flexible battery is related to substrates with high electrical resistance. • The flexible battery in voltage loss is unfavorable for their practical applications. • The use of tab engineering can mediate the resistance of flexible batteries. • The flexible battery allows the tab providing enough channels for electron transfer. Flexible lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have received tremendous interest because they can provide essential flexible power for the emerging wearable electronics. However, the realization of the flexibility of LIBs is often related to flexible substrates with high electrical resistance, which results in voltage loss of the battery and is unfavorable for their practical applications. In this work, we demonstrated the use of tab engineering to mediate the resistance of flexible batteries for high current output. The resistance of the obtained pouch cell can be decreased sharply and the output current can be significantly increased by a continuous tab with desirable power and energy density. The surprising performance of the flexible LIBs allows the tab on the current collector providing enough channels for electron transfer, thus enabling electrons to be transferred quickly and enhancing the electrochemical reaction kinetics. Such a flexible battery with sufficient output current could possibly solve some of the most critical problems for their practical applications in wearable electronics.