Structuring electrodes via acoustic-field-assisted particle patterning for enhanced performance of lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

The sluggish mass transport in current battery electrodes limits their performance, especially at high-rate cycling, and even negatively impacts the energy density. In this study, we report an acoustic-field-assisted particle patterning method to generate ordered structures in LiFePO₄ (LFP) and Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ (LTO) electrodes to facilitate lithium-ion diffusion and charge transport kinetics in these electrodes. With areal mass loading up to 18 mg cm⁻², LFP and LTO electrodes produced by our acoustic field-based method deliver 165.8 and 173.5 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.1C, respectively, and maintain up to 51% of theoretical capacity at rates up to 5C, showing superior rate capability over the ones fabricated via conventional casting. This work represents a novel and effective strategy to engineer the electrode structure for enhancing the performance of electrodes in LIBs.