Exploiting Materials to Their Full Potential, a Li-Ion Battery Electrode Formulation Optimization Study

Today, energy conversion devices typically rely on composite electrodes made of several materials interacting with one another. Understanding their individual and combined impacts on performance is essential in the pursuit of optimized systems. Unfortunately, this investigation is often disregarded in favor of quick publishable results. Here, designs of experiments are shown as capable of meeting both ends. Less than 100 different electrode formulations are defined with two active materials (LiFePO4 and Li4Ti5O12), two carbonaceous additives (carbon black and carbon nanofibers), and three binders (polyvinylidene fluoride, polyethylene-co-ethyl acrylate-co-maleic anhydride (Lotader 5500), and a hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber). Correlations with strong descriptive statistics are found between formulation and different limitations, indicating that maximum active material content should always be favored with a small fraction of both conductive additives and minimal binder content. With the help of designs of experiments, Lotader 5500-bound electrodes are optimized beyond typical formulations found in the literature.