Carbon nanostructures for dry-processed battery electrodes

Abstract

A solvent-free process utilizes carbon nanostructures to prepare compositions and electrodes for lithium-ion batteries. Carbon nanostructures can be multifunctional, offering two or more desirable characteristics, acting, for example, as a conductive carbon additive, a fibrillation agent, and / or a mechanical reinforcement. In one example, an electroactive material, a binder (e.g., PTFE), and carbon nanostructures are combined in one or more steps. A high-shear mixture is used to treat the binder in the presence of the carbon nanostructures. In some implementations, the carbon nanostructures are supplied in combination with carbon black and / or carbon nanotubes. Some anode compositions can be prepared by treating the binder in the presence of a composite containing the carbon nanostructures and an active anode material.Generally, the binder is processed in the absence of solvent. The resulting composition can be formed into a film that can be applied to a suitable substrate to form an electrode.