Investigation of water-soluble binder for nano-sized LiFePO4/C cathode in water solvent slurry system

초록

With the rising demand for energy, energy storage and conversion have become global issues. Among the many types of energy storage devices, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have a significant share in the energy market, particularly in applications such as electric vehicles (EVs). One of the components of lithium-ion batteries, the cathodes are produced by mixing with polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) binder and 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) organic solvent. However, this combination is relatively expensive, toxic, and environmentally harmful. To address these issues, the development of a water-based cathode slurry is in demand. In this study, we researched the aqueous processing of cathodes using LFP and investigated suitable new water-soluble binders. LFP was synthesized into nano-sized particles using ethylene glycol as a solvent through solvothermal synthesis. The physical properties, surface conditions, and crystal structures of the synthesized materials were confirmed using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Electrochemical properties were then measured using coin half-cells to compare water and organic systems.