The effect of pressure on the electroanalytical response of graphite anodes and LiCoO2 cathodes for Li-ion batteries

Degradation of Lithium-Ion Batteries in an Electric Transport Complex

The article provides an overview and comparative analysis of various types of batteries, including the most modern type—lithium-ion batteries. Currently, lithium-ion batteries (LIB) are widely used in electrical complexes and systems, including as a traction battery for electric vehicles. Increasing the service life of the storage devices used today is an important scientific and technical problem due to their rapid wear and tear and high cost. This article discusses the main approaches and methods for researching the LIB resource. First of all, a detailed analysis of the causes of degradation was carried out and the processes occurring in lithium-ion batteries during charging, discharging, resting and difficult operating conditions were established. Then, the main factors influencing the service life are determined: charging and discharging currents, self-discharge current, temperature, number of cycles, discharge depth, operating range of charge level, etc. when simulating a real motion process. The work considers the battery management systems (BMS) that take into account and compensate for the influence of the factors considered. In the conclusion, the positive and negative characteristics of the presented methods of scientific research of the residual life of LIB are given and recommendations are given for the choice of practical solutions to engineers and designers of batteries. The work also analyzed various operating cycles of electric transport, including heavy forced modes, extreme operating modes (when the amount of discharge and discharge of batteries is greater than the nominal value) and their effect on the degradation of lithium-ion batteries.

Effects of cycling on lithium-ion battery hysteresis and overvoltage

Currently, lithium-ion batteries are widely used as energy storage systems for mobile applications. However, a better understanding of their nature is still required to improve battery management systems (BMS). Overvoltages and open-circuit voltage (OCV) hysteresis provide valuable information regarding battery performance, but estimations of these parameters are generally inaccurate, leading to errors in BMS. Studies on hysteresis are commonly avoided because the hysteresis depends on the state of charge and degradation level and requires time-consuming measurements. We have investigated hysteresis and overvoltages in Li(NiMnCo)O2/graphite and LiFePO4/graphite commercial cells. Here we report a direct relationship between an increase in OCV hysteresis and an increase in charge overvoltage when the cells are degraded by cycling. We find that the hysteresis is related to diffusion and increases with the formation of pure phases, being primarily related to the graphite electrode. These findings indicate that the graphite electrode is a determining factor for cell efficiency.

Thermomechanical Polymer Binder Reactivity with Positive Active Materials for Li Metal Polymer and Li-Ion Batteries: An XPS and XPS Imaging Study

The lithium and lithium-ion battery electrode chemical stability in the pristine state has rarely been considered as a function of the binder choice and the electrode processing. In this work, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and XPS imaging analyses associated with complementary Mössbauer spectroscopy are used in order to study the chemical stability of two pristine positive electrodes: (i) an extruded LiFePO₄-based electrode formulated with different polymer matrices [polyethylene oxide and a polyvinylidene difluoride (PVdF)] and processed at different temperatures (90 and 130 °C, respectively) and (ii) a Li[Ni_0.5Mn_0.3Co_0.2]O₂ (NMC)-based electrode processed by tape-casting, followed by a mild or heavy calendering treatment. These analyses have allowed the identification of reactivity mechanisms at the interface of the active material and the polymer in the case of PVdF-based electrodes.

Analysis of the 3D microstructure of experimental cathode films for lithium-ion batteries under increasing compaction

It is well known that the microstructure of electrodes in lithium-ion batteries has an immense impact on their overall performance. The compaction load during the calendering process mainly determines the resulting morphology of the electrode. Therefore, NCM-based cathode films from uncompacted (0 MPa) to most highly compacted (1000 MPa) were manufactured, which corresponds to global porosities ranging from about 50% to 18%. All samples have been imaged using synchrotron tomography. These image data allow an extensive analysis of the 3D cathode microstructure with respect to increasing compaction. In addition, the numerous microstructural changes can be quantified using several characteristics describing the morphology of cathode samples. Three characteristics, namely global porosity, global volume fraction of active material and mean cathode thickness, are compared to experimental results. In addition, the microstructural analysis by means of 3D image data and image processing techniques allows the investigation of characteristics which are hard or impossible to ascertain by experiments, for example the continuous pore size distribution and the sphericity distribution of NCM-particles. Finally, the dependency of microstructural characteristics on compaction load is described by the help of parametric probability distributions. This approach can be used, for example, to predict the distribution of a certain characteristic for an 'unknown' compaction load, which is a valuable information with regard to the optimization and development process of NCM-cathodes in lithium-ion batteries.

LAY DESCRIPTION

It is well known that the microstructure of electrodes in lithium-ion batteries has an immense impact on their overall performance. The manufacturing of the batteries includes the so-called calendering, where the electrodes are compressed with a certain pressure, which is called compaction load. This process step mainly determines the resulting morphology of the electrode and thus the properties of the battery. Therefore, eight cathodes with different compaction loads were manufactured and imaged by synchrotron tomography, which leads to 3D images containing detailed information about the inner structure of the cathode. This image data allows an extensive analysis of the 3D cathode microstructure with respect to increasing compaction. In order to quantify the microstructural changes we use several characteristics describing diverse properties of the morphology. Furthermore, the 3D image data can be used for the computation of characteristics which can not be determined by experiments. Therefore, 3D image data allows us to understand how the microstructure of cathodes is influenced by the compaction load. Finally, we are able to predict the distribution of a certain characteristic for arbitrary compaction loads. This information is valuable with regard to the development of improved lithium-ion batteries.

Optical Characterization of Commercial Lithiated Graphite Battery Electrodes and in Situ Fiber Optic Evanescent Wave Spectroscopy

Optical characterization of graphite anodes in lithium ion batteries (LIB) is presented here for potential use in estimating their state of charge (SOC). The characterization is based on reflectance spectroscopy of the anode of commercial LIB cells and in situ optical measurements using an embedded optical fiber sensor. The optical characterization of the anode using wavelengths ranging from 500 to 900 nm supports the dominance of graphite over the solid electrolyte interface in governing the anode's reflectance properties. It is demonstrated that lithiated graphite's reflectance has a significant change in the near-infrared band, 750-900 nm, compared with the visible spectrum as a function of SOC. An embedded optical sensor is used to measure the transmittance of graphite anode in the near-infrared band, and the results suggest that a unique inexpensive method may be developed to estimate the SOC of a LIB.