Fabrication method of directional microstructure for high energy density, high power battery cathodes
Author(s)
Li, Guanting
Wang, Kaiyi
Shen, Lin
Huang, Chun
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Rechargeable batteries have attracted significant attention for electric transportation and storage of intermittent renewable energy. Conventional slurry coating makes random electrode microstructure with tortuous ion diffusion pathways that restrict capacity. We present a novel directional ice templating (DIT) method of making ultra-high mass loading (70 mg cm−2) LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 cathodes containing engineered electrode/electrolyte interface and aligned, fast ion diffusion channels to break the conventional energy-power trade-off. We investigated the effects of calendering to reduce electrode porosity while maintaining the interfacial vertical microstructure. Our results show a critical threshold of 30% calendering degree that exhibits the optimal combination of gravimetric and volumetric energy density, fast (dis)charging, and long-term cycling stability. The porosity of the calendered DIT cathode is compatible with that of the conventional slurry coated cathodes, but exhibits significantly higher energy densities of 367 Wh kg−1 and 779 Wh L−1 when the (dis)charge current is increased to 7 mA cm−2 vs. 102 Wh kg−1 and 215 Wh L−1 for the slurry coated electrodes in pouch cells. Further, we built an electrode processing instrument to demonstrate the scalability of the aqueous DIT method. The developments demonstrate the feasibility of extending the DIT approach toward industrial-scale sustainable electrode manufacturing for efficient energy storage.
Date Issued
2026-02-17
Date Acceptance
2026-01-03
Citation
Advanced Materials Interfaces, 2026, 13 (4)
ISSN
2196-7350
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
Advanced Materials Interfaces
Volume
13
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
© 2026 The Author(s). Advanced Materials Interfaces published by Wiley-VCH GmbH This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
10.1002/admi.202500993
Subjects
aqueous processing
manufacturing
microstructure
NMC811 cathode
scaled-up fabrication
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
e00993
Date Publish Online
2026-01-07