Virtual Seminar – Battery slurries, Electrodes
Best practices for characterizing and manufacturing battery slurries and electrodes
The market for batteries is rapidly growing, and the increased demand for portable electronic devices, including mobile phones and laptops requires greater advances in battery technology in order to provide a light weight, long lasting and stable power source. Battery technology is also being pushed further in electric vehicle applications, which require even more lightweight, higher power and faster charging batteries.
Critical for the development and production of a battery is getting the right material composition and putting it together in such a way as to give the desired end-use properties. Key to this are the properties of the electrode slurry which contain the active powder (lithium, carbon), solvent and binder. The particle size of the active powder is critical, with small particle sizes known to increase the rate of electrochemical reactions due to their larger surface area – this is favourable in terms of power production. Energy storage capacity and electrolyte mobility, on the other hand, are related to porosity, which is influenced by particle size and particle shape distribution – with larger particle sizes generally favoured. Hence getting the right compromise between size and shape distribution is important.
Combining a polymeric binder with a large amount of powder and solvent will produce a non-Newtonian dispersion with complex flow behaviour dependent on all of the factors cited above such as particle size and shape distribution but additionally particle and binder concentration. Since the primary route for electrode manufacture is to apply the slurry onto a metal foil, the rheology or flow behaviour of the slurry needs to be controlled so that it is stable, can easily be applied, and gives the required film properties including thickness and density – film properties influence ion transfer rate and recharge cycle time of the battery.
To achieve all of the above it is necessary to grind the active powder to the desired size and shape and then mix the powder with binder and solvent to produce a slurry with the correct flow properties. This requires the use of specialized mixing and grinding equipment combined with on-line or off-line characterization techniques to ensure product specifications are met. Since production and characterization methods are so critical to the development and production of battery slurries, Malvern Instruments and NETZSCH (Grinding & Dispersing) have decided to team-up and deliver a virtual seminar on the ‘Best practices for characterizing and manufacturing battery slurries and electrodes’
In this virtual seminar, which will be delivered via Malvern’s webinar platform, experts from Netzsch and Malvern will discuss how to optimally manufacture and characterize battery slurries and their active particle components to give the requisite end use battery properties and performance.
The seminar will run for 2 hours and contain 20 minute talks on the following subjects, with time for questions.
- Equipment for the Production of Battery Slurries
- Particle Characterization for Battery slurries
- Dry and Wet Grinding of Active Battery Materials
- Rheological Properties of Battery slurries
To sign up for the event please click on the appropriate link below.
US/Europe | 16th November 14:30 GMT |  |
Asia/Pacific | 17th November 06:00 GMT | |
We look forward to seeing you there!