R+D CSIC

Light and non-flammable Lithium-ion electrodes

A new method to manufacture self-supported ceramic electrodes for batteries, without any flammable material, has been developed. These electrodes can be flat and very thick or can have other shapes, like tubes, and their capacity per unit area can be up to ten times higher than that of commercial ones.

The lithium-ion batteries are the state of art in rechargeable batteries. Nevertheless, their electrical storage capacity should be improved. Nowadays, one of the main drawbacks of this technology is that these batteries can degrade at high temperature, causing in some cases to catch on fire. That’s because the electrolytes of the Li-ion batteries have organic solvents which are flammable. Safety can be notably improved by using new materials as well as using mechanisms and control electronic circuits. Therefore, the best option would be that the batteries did not contain inflammable materials.

The Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid of the CSIC and the Universidad Carlos III have developed a new method to manufacture self-supported ceramic electrodes for batteries, without any flammable material. These electrodes can be flat and very thick or can have other shapes, like tubes.    

The new electrodes are suitable for applications where a high electrochemical performance is required together with improved safety, low weight and good performing at high temperatures

With the new method, electrodes (anodes and cathodes) for batteries can be produced containing only the active material, free of any other electrochemically inactive additives. This makes the obtained electrodes suitable for applications where a high electrochemical performance is required together with improved safety, low weight and good performing at high temperatures. The electrodes are specially adapted to be used in solid state batteries, free of flammable materials.

The inventors have compared weight and capacity of commercial electrodes with those electrodes manufactured following the patented procedure. For electrodes with the same thickness, those processed with the new method are up to 40% lighter. However, say the authors, “the most outstanding achievement of the method is that it allows to manufacture very thick electrodes (from 450 to 1000 micrometers). Depending on the thickness, the capacity per unit area of the ceramic electrode can be up to ten times higher than that of commercial ones. Besides, as they are free of additives, all the electrode material is electrochemically active.

The method, which is not expensive, can be easily implemented in the current battery production processes and it would be only required to change the first stage of electrode processing.

Contact:

Isabel Gavilanes-Pérez
Vicepresidencia Adjunta de Transferencia
del Conocimiento CSIC
Tel.: 93 5947700
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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