Toward lithium ion batteries with enhanced thermal conductivity

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Effective thermal management is critical for high-power batteries due to increasing power density and diverse applications.
• Conventional battery electrodes often exhibit limited thermal conductivity, hindering performance and safety.
• Carbon nanotubes offer promising properties for enhancing thermal transport in battery components.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the thermal properties of lithium-ion battery electrodes.
• To quantify the in-plane and cross-plane thermal conductivities of MWCNT-enhanced electrodes.
• To assess the scalability and applicability of the synthesis method to commercial electrode materials.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of MWCNT-enhanced battery electrodes using a scalable filtration method.
• Measurement of in-plane and cross-plane thermal conductivities of the fabricated electrodes.
• Characterization of electrode structure, including specific configurations with γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles.

Main Results:

• MWCNT-enhanced electrodes achieved significantly higher in-plane thermal conductivity (up to 141 W/mK) compared to conventional carbon black electrodes (up to 2 orders of magnitude higher).
• Cross-plane thermal conductivity reached up to 3.6 W/mK.
• A specific electrode design with γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles on MWCNTs showed in-plane and cross-plane thermal conductivities of ~50 and 3 W/mK, respectively.

Conclusions:

• The integration of MWCNTs is a highly effective strategy for enhancing the thermal conductivity of Li-ion battery electrodes.
• The scalable filtration method allows for cost-effective production of these enhanced electrodes.
• Improved thermal properties are vital for advancing thermal management in Li-ion and other high-power-density batteries.