Flexible Battery With Through-Holed Current Collectors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional lithium ion secondary batteries lack flexibility, leading to stress on electrode interfaces during bending, which can cause peeling and unstable electrochemical reactions, resulting in performance degradation and potential short circuits.
Innovation Solution
A flexible secondary battery design featuring a first and second current collector layer with through-holes, a separator in between, and adhesive layers to enhance attachment and prevent exfoliation, along with a coupling member to maintain structural integrity during bending.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional lithium ion secondary battery is bent, then flexibility is improved, but stress focuses on electrode interfaces causing peeling and performance degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The current collector is divided into multiple segments with through-holes, creating a modular structure that can flex without concentrating stress at single interface points. This segmentation allows the electrode assembly to bend while distributing mechanical stress across multiple separation points, preventing peeling at any single location.
Solution Approach 2:
The electrode structure incorporates through-holes at specific locations in the current collector, creating localized flexibility zones. These through-holes are strategically positioned to allow bending at predetermined points while maintaining structural integrity at other areas, enabling the battery to flex without compromising overall electrode stability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a battery is repeatedly deformed, then flexibility is demonstrated, but relative positions of electrodes change causing unstable electrochemical reactions
Solution Approach 1:
The through-holed current collector acts as a segmented framework that maintains electrode spacing while allowing flexion. Each section with through-holes serves as an independent unit that can move slightly relative to adjacent sections, absorbing positional changes without compromising the overall electrode alignment or causing short circuits.
Solution Approach 2:
The separator with through-holes serves as an intermediary layer between electrodes, maintaining their relative positions during bending. The through-holes in the separator align with those in the current collector, creating a coordinated structure that prevents electrode displacement while allowing the battery to be repeatedly deformed.
3Reliability
If current collector layers are added to prevent peeling, then electrode stability is improved, but battery thickness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The current collector is designed as a thin film structure with through-holes rather than a solid thick layer. This thin-film approach provides the necessary mechanical support and peeling prevention while minimizing thickness addition. The through-holes reduce material usage and allow the thin current collector to maintain flexibility without requiring excessive thickness for structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The current collector employs a porous structure with through-holes that reduces its effective thickness and material density. This porous design maintains the mechanical function of preventing peeling while significantly reducing the volume and thickness contribution of the current collector layer compared to solid alternatives.
Data Source
AI summary
A flexible battery a first electrode layer, a first current collector layer disposed on the first electrode layer, where a plurality of through-holes is defined in the first current collector layer, a separator disposed on the first current collector layer, a second current collector layer disposed on the separator, where a plurality of through-holes is defined in the second current collector layer, and a second electrode layer disposed on the second current collector layer.