Electrode Coating via Substrate Induced Coagulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional slurry coating methods for electrodes in electrical elements like batteries and fuel cells result in inadequate contact between active and conductive materials due to physical attachment with a binder, leading to suboptimal electrochemical performance.
Innovation Solution
The use of the Substrate Induced Coagulation (SIC) method to form thin and uniform layers of active and conductive materials on an electrode substrate with a polyelectrolyte, ensuring better attachment and intermolecular forces for enhanced electrochemical properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional slurry coating method is used, then electrode can be manufactured with simple process, but active material and conductive material are physically attached using binder leading to poor contact between particles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses polyelectrolyte as an intermediary substance that facilitates strong adhesion between the active material/conductive material particles and the current collector substrate. The polyelectrolyte forms a bridging layer that enables effective attachment without requiring excessive binder, thus improving particle contact and electrochemical performance while maintaining process feasibility
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the coating system by using polyelectrolyte with specific functional groups that can form strong interactions with both the substrate and particles. This chemical parameter change enables transition from physical attachment to chemically-enhanced attachment, improving contact between particles and enhancing electrochemical performance
2Strength
If binder is used to attach active material and conductive material, then materials can be attached to current collector, but some active material and conductive material become buried in binder resulting in less contact between particles
Solution Approach 1:
The polyelectrolyte acts as a mediator that provides adhesion strength through chemical interactions while maintaining particle accessibility. Unlike conventional binder that buries particles, the polyelectrolyte forms a thin, effective attachment layer that preserves particle-to-particle contact pathways, thus achieving both strong adhesion and high particle contact efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies polyelectrolyte locally at the interface between particles and substrate, concentrating the adhesion function where needed rather than using bulk binder throughout. This localized application ensures strong attachment while minimizing the amount of material that could bury particles, preserving particle contact efficiency
3Manufacturing precision
If conventional coating method is used, then manufacturing process is simple, but coating layers are thick and not uniform
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies polyelectrolyte to the current collector substrate beforehand, creating a prepared surface that readily accepts and uniformly distributes active material and conductive material particles. This preliminary action ensures uniform coating formation without requiring complex coating process adjustments, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while achieving high coating precision
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach results in electrodes with superior electrochemical performance, even at thinner thicknesses, by allowing for more elaborate and intricate layer structures, improving conductivity and adhesion while maintaining proper material amounts.
Implementation Method 1
coating layers of active material, conductive material, or mixture thereof on the electrode substrate with substrate induced coagulation (SIC) method
Implementation Method 2
a polyelectrolyte which attaches the active material and conductive material to the electrode substrate
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is related to an electrode and a method for preparing the same, and is particularly related to an electrode that has an intricate structure of active material layer, conductive material layer, or mixture layer of active material and conductive material that displays superior electrochemical properties despite being thin, and a method for preparing an electrode using the coating method of SIC.