Three-Dimensional Printing of a LiFePO4/Graphite Battery Cell via Fused Deposition Modeling

Abstract

Among the 3D-printing technologies, fused deposition modeling (FDM) represents a promising route to enable direct incorporation of the battery within the final 3D object. Here, the preparation and characterization of lithium iron phosphate/polylactic acid (LFP/PLA) and SiO2/PLA 3D-printable filaments, specifically conceived respectively as positive electrode and separator in a lithium-ion battery is reported. By means of plasticizer addition, the active material loading within the positive electrode is raised as high as possible (up to 52 wt.%) while still providing enough flexibility to the filament to be printed. A thorough analysis is performed to determine the thermal, electrical and electrochemical effect of carbon black as conductive additive in the positive electrode and the electrolyte uptake impact of ceramic additives in the separator. Considering both optimized filaments composition and using our previously reported graphite/PLA filament for the negative electrode, assembled and “printed in one-shot” complete LFP/Graphite battery cells are 3D-printed and characterized. Taking advantage of the new design capabilities conferred by 3D-printing, separator patterns and infill density are discussed with a view to enhance the liquid electrolyte impregnation and avoid short-circuits.

How to Pack a Punch – Why 3D Batteries are Essential

“…While interweaving electrode network and multicoaxial‐cable battery designs have been recently proposed, [25,71] the main use of FDM is for the fabrication of planar electrodes for LIBs. Extensive efforts have been made to increase the proportion of active materials in FDM‐printed electrodes.…”

“…Extensive efforts have been made to increase the proportion of active materials in FDM‐printed electrodes. The preparation and characterization of lithium iron phosphate/polylactic acid (LFP/PLA) and SiO 2 /PLA 3D‐printable filaments, as positive electrode and separator in a lithium‐ion battery has been reported by Maurel et al [71] By means of plasticizer addition, the active‐material loading within the positive electrode is raised as high as possible (up to 52 wt.%).…”

“…[66,68] The printed 3D LIMB displayed a high areal-energy density of 9.7 J.cm À 2 at a power density of 2.7 mW.cm À 2 , which demonstrates the capability of 3D printing to construct high-aspect structures within a small area. [69,70] While interweaving electrode network and multicoaxialcable battery designs have been recently proposed, [25,71] the main use of FDM is for the fabrication of planar electrodes for LIBs. Extensive efforts have been made to increase the proportion of active materials in FDM-printed electrodes.…”

3D-Printed Objects for Multipurpose Applications

“…Manufacturing of 3D products by 3D printers is performed by various methods. The fused deposition is considered one of the most popular and economical methods where thermoplastic polymers are used for the preparation of filament suitable for a 3D printer (Ref 43 ). In this method, cheap complicated items can be produced with reduced waste (Ref 44 ).…”

Ag-Coated Cu/Polylactic Acid Composite Filament for Lithium and Sodium-Ion Battery Current Collector Three-Dimensional Printing via Thermoplastic Material Extrusion

“…Starting from 2017, various groups initiated the development of bespoke composite 3D printable filaments, specifically developed to print components of a classical LIB: positive electrodes (PLA/LiFePO 4 (Ragones et al, 2018;Maurel et al, 2019), PP/LiFePO 4 (Maurel et al, 2020), PLA/LMO (Reyes et al, 2018)), negative electrodes (PLA/graphite (Maurel et al, 2018;Maurel et al, 2019), PLA/LTO (Ragones et al, 2018;Reyes et al, 2018)), separator (PLA/SiO 2 (Maurel et al, 2019)) and solid polymer electrolyte (PEO/LiTFSI (Maurel et al, 2020a), PLA/ PEO/LiTFSI (Ragones et al, 2019)). In 2018, an important milestone was reached in the field as our group (Maurel et al, 2018) reporting for the first time that the introduction of a thoroughly chosen plasticizer helps to increase the number of charges within the composite filament considerably.…”