Understanding the Processability of Graphite Blend Electrodes with Silicon Nanoparticles

Abstract

Li-ion batteries (LiBs) are one of the best solutions for energy storage due to their high capacity, high power, and cyclability1,2. The increasing need for energy storage to supply electric vehicles demands continuous innovation to optimize the LiBs, specifically the manufacturing parameters to fabricate these devices. The battery production requests improved materials, cell designs, greener manufacturing processes, and recycling3,4. For instance, developing an improved anode material could be a good approach for optimizing the LiB energy density. A blend of graphite and silicon is a promising negative electrode due to the combined stability of graphite with the high theoretical capacity of silicon5,6. Since adding silicon changes the manufacturing parameters already established for commercial graphite electrode fabrication, our goal is to understand the impact of the manufacturing process, such as the calendaring effect on the properties of the silicon/graphite blend electrodes. These electrodes were prepared with two different silicon percentages, 8%, and 15%, compared to pure graphite. We investigate the morphological changes, electrochemical aging, and tortuosity when decreasing the porosity from 55% to 30% for both electrodes to evidence the porosity threshold for obtaining adequate electrode properties. Manufacturing optimization is time and cost-consuming. Modeling approaches are an excellent choice to decrease LiB fabrication scraps. We are developing machine learning and physical models of the 3D silicon-graphite electrode fabrication process within our ARTISTIC project7, and these optimization results will help to validate them. S. Chu and A. Majumdar, Nature, 488, 294–303 (2012).J. B. Goodenough and K.-S. Park, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 135, 1167–1176 (2013).J. Li, J. Fleetwood, W. B. Hawley, and W. Kays, Chem. Rev., 122, 903–956 (2022).F. M. Zanotto et al., Batter. Supercaps, 5 (2022).M. T. McDowell, S. W. Lee, W. D. Nix, and Y. Cui, Adv. Mater., 25, 4966–4985 (2013).F. Jeschull et al., J. Electrochem. Soc., 167, 100535 (2020).C. Liu, O. Arcelus, T. Lombardo, H. Oularbi, and A. A. Franco, J. Power Sources, 512, 230486 (2021).