Battery Electrodes: Nano vs Micro-Structuring

#nanotechnology #nanomaterials #electrodes

Battery electrodes comprise a current collector onto which a mix of active material particles, conductive carbon and binder additives are deposited. While this basic design has persisted for decades, the desired “size” of the active material particle is a matter of debate. Advances in nanotechnology have spurred interest in deploying nanoparticles as the active material. In this talk, I will compare nano with micro-particle electrodes, and discuss why the battery industry is unlikely to replace micro with nano-size particles. Given this, I will address the question as to whether there is a place for nanomaterials in battery design. I will show that the way forward lies in micro-particles constructed by the assembly of nanoscale building blocks and in micro-particles with engineered or natural nano-porosity. Such "multiscale particles" offer exciting possibilities to develop the next generation of battery electrodes that are quintessentially both micro and nano with respect to their performance attributes.