《Flour-Infused Dry Processed Electrode Enhancing Lithium-ion Battery Performance》

Electrodes are vital for lithium-ion battery performance. The primary method for large-scale electrode production involves wet slurry casting methods, which encounter challenges related to solvent usage, energy consumption, and mechanical stability. Dry processed (DP) electrodes are a promising alternative but struggle with rate capability and mechanical properties. Here, we introduce an approach of incorporating 1 wt% flour into DP electrodes (DP–1%F) through a binder fibrillation strategy, which enhances the mechanical strength, rate performance, and cycling stability of the electrodes. The cross-linking of protein and starch in flour, along with the fibrillation of PTFE, enable the DP–1%F electrode to exhibit robust mechanical properties and high flexibility. Additionally, the incorporation of flour makes the DP electrode primarily create large pores, reducing electrode tortuosity, thereby endowing the DP–1%F electrode with improved kinetic behavior. The robust mechanical properties and improved kinetic behavior suppress the development of irreversible phase transitions and intragranular/intergranular cracks. These characteristics led to the superior cycling stability of the DP–1%F electrodes with a capacity retention of 80.3% after 260 cycles at 2C and 4.5V (NCM811). Our findings offer valuable insights for the development of high-power, long-life DP electrodes, addressing key challenges in lithium-ion batteries.