Morphology-Dependent Influences on the Performance of Battery Cells with a Hierarchically Structured Positive Electrode

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the morphology of hierarchically structured positive electrodes influences battery cell performance, highlighting key electrochemical processes and enabling targeted electrode design for high-power applications.

Contribution

It demonstrates that electrode morphology determines the dominant electrochemical processes affecting performance, providing insights for tailored electrode optimization.

Findings

Electrode morphology influences electronic conductivity, solid diffusion, and ionic transport.

Understanding these influences enables goal-oriented electrode design.

The study offers a model to predict performance based on electrode structure.

Abstract

The rising demand for high-performing batteries requires new technological concepts. To facilitate fast charge and discharge, hierarchically structured electrodes offer short diffusion paths in the active material. However, there are still gaps in understanding the influences on the cell performance of such electrodes. Here, we employed a cell model to demonstrate that the morphology of the hierarchically structured electrode determines which electrochemical processes dictate the cell performance. The potentially limiting processes include electronic conductivity within the porous secondary particles, solid diffusion within the primary particles, and ionic transport in the electrolyte surrounding the secondary particles. Our insights enable a goal-oriented tailoring of hierarchically structured electrodes for high-power applications.