Dry Battery Electrode Composition With Pre-Coated Conductive Grains
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dry processes for forming battery electrodes often result in non-uniform coatings due to agglomeration of conductive carbon within the binder network, leading to reduced binder efficiency and electrochemical performance.
Innovation Solution
The use of pre-embedded active material particles, where each grain of the active material is coated with an electrically conductive filler material, such as carbon nanotubes, carbon black, or graphene, to create a uniform distribution of conductive fillers and improve binder binding efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conductive carbon is mixed within the binder network in existing dry processes, then the electrode can be formed, but the coating becomes non-uniform due to carbon agglomeration
Solution Approach 1:
The conductive carbon is segmented into individual particles and pre-embedded onto each active material grain surface, preventing agglomeration. This segmentation approach ensures uniform distribution of carbon throughout the electrode coating by attaching conductive particles to discrete active material units rather than mixing bulk carbon with binder.
Solution Approach 2:
The conductive carbon is pre-embedded onto the active material grains before the actual electrode coating process. This preliminary action of attaching carbon to active material surfaces ensures uniform distribution is achieved before the coating step, avoiding the problem of carbon agglomeration that occurs when carbon is mixed with binder during coating.
2Reliability
If conductive carbon agglomerates within the binder network, then carbon can be present in the electrode, but binder efficiency and electrochemical performance are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The conductive carbon is segmented into individual particles attached to each active material grain, preventing the formation of large agglomerates that reduce binder efficiency. This segmentation ensures that carbon is distributed as discrete units throughout the electrode, maintaining binder effectiveness and electrochemical performance.
Solution Approach 2:
Conductive carbon is locally attached to the surface of each active material grain, creating localized conductive pathways at the grain level. This local quality approach ensures that each active material particle has its own conductive coating, improving electron transport and electrochemical performance while maintaining uniform binder distribution.
3Manufacturing precision
If pre-embedded active material particles are used with each grain coated with electrically conductive filler material, then uniform distribution of conductive fillers is achieved, but the process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The conductive filler attachment and active material grain formation steps are merged into a single pre-embedding process. By combining these operations, the patent achieves uniform conductive filler distribution while avoiding the need for separate, complex post-processing steps to distribute carbon uniformly throughout the electrode.
Solution Approach 2:
The conductive filler is pre-embedded onto active material grains before electrode coating, performing the distribution function in advance. This preliminary action simplifies the overall process by eliminating the need for complex post-coating carbon distribution steps, achieving uniform filler distribution through a single integrated operation.
Data Source
AI summary
An active material component of a composition for forming an electrode of a battery in a dry process is provided. The active material component includes a dry powder including a plurality of grains of an active material. The active material component further includes an electrically conductive filler material attached to each of the plurality of grains.