Cellulose Elementary Fibrils as Deagglomerated Binder for High-Mass-Loading Lithium Battery Electrodes.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Sustainable Energy

Background:

• High-mass-loading lithium battery electrodes face challenges with continuous ion/electron conduction pathways.
• Conventional synthetic polymer binders often fall short in enabling efficient charge transport at high electrode mass loadings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce cellulose elementary fibrils (CEFs) as a deagglomerated binder for high-mass-loading electrodes.
• To investigate the impact of CEF binders on electrode conductivity, stability, and overall cell performance.

Main Methods:

• CEFs were prepared by modulating intermolecular hydrogen bonding using a proton acceptor and hydrotropic agent.
• The deagglomeration process increased CEF surface area and anionic charge density.
• CEF binders were used in overlithiated layered oxide (OLO) cathodes for performance evaluation.

Main Results:

• CEF binders promoted uniform dispersion of conductive additives and suppressed interfacial side reactions.
• Homogeneous redox reactions were achieved throughout the electrodes.
• CEF-based OLO cathodes demonstrated high areal-mass-loading (50 mg cm⁻²) and specific energy density (445.4 Wh kg⁻¹).

Conclusions:

• CEFs offer a viable solution for creating sustainable high-mass-loading electrodes.
• The deagglomerated nature of CEFs significantly improves ion/electron conduction pathways.
• This approach surpasses the performance of conventional binders and previously reported OLO cathodes.