Electrodes composed of particle-polymer composites are used in a variety of technological applications including electric vehicles, microelectronics, and environmental remediation. The efficiency of ion and electrode transport across the electrode strongly affects the overall performance of the electrode. The electrodes are fabricated by flowing a concentrated suspension of particles over a surface and allowing the suspension to dry. The resulting particulate microstructure formed at the surface influences charge transport of the final electrode. The goal of this project is to visualize the evolution of the microstructure before, during and after the flow, coating and drying processes of electrode manufacturing. The final films will be characterized and tested to help understand the relationship between processing conditions and electrode performance. The research team will provide opportunities for students at various academic levels to participate in the research, including high school students who will be recruited to the project through the STAR and STAR LITE programs at Drexel.
This hypothesis underlying this project is that nanometer-scale carbon particles dictate properties of the wet slurry and dry electrode microstructure, which strongly affect charge transport. Techniques are proposed to visualize the location of the particles and their connectivity during the coating and drying processes. To accomplish this, carbon-coated metallic nanoparticles will be seeded into the electrode slurry so that three-dimensional tomographic images of the slurry and two-dimensional elemental maps of the coating can be obtained. Microstructure visualization will be combined with in-situ measurements of slurry impedance during flow and drying, which will enable dynamic characterization of particle connectivity throughout the manufacturing process. Results of this project will provide practitioners with a better understanding of how material compositions and processing conditions can be manipulated to form more efficient electrodes.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
