AbstractsChemistry

Increasing prevalence of portable electronic devices and growing concern over the consumption of fossil fuels have led to a growing demand for more efficient energy storage options. Lithium ion chemistry has grown to dominate the battery market, but still requires improvement to meet the increasing need for smaller, cheaper, better performing batteries. The use of nanomaterials has garnered much attention in recent years as a potential way of improving battery performance while decreasing the size. However, new problems are introduced with these materials such as low packing density and high reactivity with the electrolyte. This research focuses on the development of an electrode architecture using nanomaterials which will decrease lithium ion transport distance while enhancing electrical conductivity within the cell. The proposed architecture consists of a stacked, 2D structure composed of layers of carbon nanotubes and active material particles, and can be applied to both the anode and the cathode. The process also has the advantage of low cost because it can be performed under normal laboratory conditions (e.g. temperature and pressure) and easily adapted to a commercial scale.