Jonghyun Park

Abstract:

In this study, a new hybrid 3D structure electrode is, for the first time, proposed that can achieve high battery performance, such as high areal energy and power density. The proposed structure utilizes the advantages of digital structure to break through the limitation posed by the conventional laminated structure, which can be applied to large scale battery formats. An extrusion-based additive manufacturing method is used to fabricate this hybrid 3D structure by using the conventional solution, which resolves the typical challenges in preparing solutions for the extrusion process. The results indicate that significantly enhanced areal energy and power densities can be achieved with the hybrid 3D structure. The hybrid 3D structure LiMn2O4 battery shows superior performances, in terms of specific capacity and areal capacity. More importantly, compared to the conventional structure, the hybrid 3D structure was more efficient and had much higher lithium ions utilization, which presents a new possibility for preparing an electrode with excellent electrochemical performance. This work resolved fabrication, solution preparation, and assembly issues for a scaled up 3D battery via the extrusion-based additive manufacturing method. It demonstrated that the proposed 3D structures provide a high specific surface area and quick responses, which are the key challenges in the area of materials science involving two interfaces and their kinetic reactions.