Research Overview
Resnick Fellow Max Saccone and Professor Julia Greer have recently developed a new additive manufacturing technique for lithium sulfide (Li2S) composites for use as battery cathodes. The three dimensionally architected composites were also studied for their mechanical properties, which could improve lithium-sulfur battery lifetimes, allowing these batteries to compete economically against lithium-ion technology for both transportation and stationary storage applications. The results are published in their new paper, "Understanding and mitigating mechanical degradation in Li-S batteries: additive manufacturing of Li2S composites and nanomechanical particle compressions."
Scientific Achievement
We report a novel additive manufacturing technique for air-sensitive Li-S cathode materials, and measure mechanical deformation of Li2S particles.
Significance and impact
- Li-S batteries use earth-abundant materials, with great potential for grid storage applications
- This work aims to solve significant challenges with mechanical degradation and capacity fade
Technical Details
- A water-in-oil emulsion enables additive manufacturing of air-sensitive composites.
- The technique provides a 3x improved resolution over prior additively manufactured Li-S materials.
- Li2S particle compression experiments reveal conditions for material cracking, which can inform better electrode design.
Saccone, M. A. & Greer, J. R., Understanding and mitigating mechanical degradation in Li-S batteries: additive manufacturing of Li2S composites and nanomechanical particle compressions, J. Mater. Res. 1–11 (2021). doi:10.1557/s43578-021-00182-w.
Contact: Julia Greer