Structured electrodes for improved energy storage

Li离子电池（LiB）的发展已经通过改进的电化学活性电极材料的发展而取得进展，并且已经提供了性能的稳定改进。每个LiB电池包括两个电极（阳极和阴极），每个电极由三种材料组成：电化学活性材料，粘合剂（通常是聚合物）和导电增强剂（通常是炭黑）。这三种材料的相对分数，与挥发性液体混合在一起形成浆料，加上允许液体电解质涌入电极的最终电极孔隙率，基于详尽的电化学测试进行优化。商业工具可用于帮助指导这种优化，但仅适用于最传统类型的电极。随着允许材料的更受控布置以形成“结构化电极”的新的制造方法被发明并且所得装置显示出更好的性能，出现了从电极材料的可能的2D和3D空间布置的不可计数的数目中识别在特定应用中提供装置性能的显著改进的那些的令人兴奋的机会。然而，通过目前的经验方法来实现这种优化是不可能的缓慢和昂贵的。该提案将开发一套建模工具，将微观长度尺度连接到宏观长度尺度，以指导电极结构的空间分布的优化，从而提高下一代储能设备的性能，寿命和引入。这种设计优化在LiB和其他系统被推向极限的情况下尤其重要，例如电动汽车的高功率（快速充电/放电）应用，或者离子迁移率受到限制的情况下，例如固有安全但离子迁移率低的固态电池。所产生的见解将包括孔隙率、粒度、粘合剂、不同材料的孔隙率、设备格式和应用的最佳空间布置（三维），以及它们如何制造，以及它们的属性如何随操作时间而变化。我们的方法的新奇在于：（1）一种有效描述储能电极中离子运动动态的新方法，即使在有更多自由度的情况下，该方法也允许模型用于优化，以及（2）使用新的制造能力进行大规模结构化电极的模型验证。通过连接模型，设计优化，制造和性能测量，该计划将提供独立于材料的通用工具，用于在强有力的工业指导和参与的背景下优化任何Li离子，Na离子，超级电容器或其他基于电极的设备。

The development of Li ion batteries (LiBs) has progressed through the evolution of improved electrochemically active electrode materials and has provided steady improvements in performance. Every LiB battery comprises two electrodes (anode and cathode), each made up of three materials: the electrochemically active material, a binder (typically a polymer) and an electrical conductivity enhancer (typically carbon black). The relative fractions of these three materials, blended together with a fugitive liquid into a slurry, plus the final electrode porosity that allows the liquid electrolyte to flood into the electrode, are optimized based on exhaustive electrochemical testing. Commercial tools are available to help guide this optimisation but are useful only for the most conventional types of electrode. As new manufacturing approaches that allow for more controlled arrangements of the materials to form "structured electrodes" are invented and the resulting devices show better performance, there arises an exciting opportunity to identify, from the uncountable number of possible 2D and 3D spatial arrangements of the electrode materials, those which offer significant improvements in device performance in particular applications. However, to achieve this optimisation through current empirical approaches is impossibly slow and expensive.This proposal will develop a suite of modelling tools bridging micro to macro lengths-scales to guide the optimization of the spatial distribution of electrode structure to advance the performance, lifetime and introduction of next generation energy storage devices. This design optimization is especially critical where LiB and other systems are pushed to their limits e.g. high power (rapid charge/discharge) applications for EVs, or where ion mobility is otherwise restricted, such as inherently safe but low ionic mobility solid-state batteries. Insights generated will include the optimal spatial arrangements (in three dimensions) of porosity, particle size, binder, porosity for different materials, device formats and applications, how they could be manufactured, and how their properties vary with time in operation. The novelty of our methodology is: (1) a new approach to describe the dynamics of ion movement in energy storage electrodes efficiently that allows the models to be used in optimisation even when significantly more degrees of freedom are available, and (2) the use of a new manufacturing capability for large scale structured electrodes for model validation. By linking models, design optimisation, manufacture and performance measurements the programme will deliver material-independent and generic tools for optimisation of any Li ion, Na ion, supercapacitor or other electrode-based device, within the context of strong industrial guidance and engagement.