11: Future Experiments

Hi everyone! In this post, I will outline a future experiment that will test various aqueous binders, focusing on strength and solubility in water.

Experiment

A potential experiment that can help support this research is to evaluate the performance and recyclability of battery electrodes using various aqueous binders, focusing on strength and also solubility in water.

Setup

To prepare, use multiple aqueous binders, such as polyvinyl alcohol, guar gum, or Alginate-based binders, to form multiple samples of the slurry. They would be then coated onto current collectors to make the electrode film, which is what the testing would be done on.

Testing

First, we must see their feasibility in use, by conducting tests that stimulate usage over the course of a battery lifetime. Thus, I can conduct tensile strength tests on the electrode films to measure their mechanical properties and performance tests using cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and charge-discharge cycling tests to evaluate the electrochemical behavior and capacity retention.

To evaluate their feasibility in recycling, I can immerse the electrodes in deionized water to test the solubility and ease of separation of the binder from the active material. For collected data, I will measure the time required for binder dissolution and the completeness of active material recovery. And finally, I will analyze the recovered materials using a scanning electron microscope to assess their condition and potential for reuse.

To analyze the data, I will compare the mechanical strength and electrochemical performance of electrodes using the various binders with each other and also with traditional solvent-based binders, such as PVDF. Finally, I will identify any trade-offs between mechanical or electrochemical performance and recyclability.

Results

The expected results of this experiment should show that aqueous binders have adequate mechanical strength and electrochemical performance and the solubility tests should reveal that aqueous binders can be easily separated from the active materials, leading to a more straightforward recycling process.

Some future perspectives include assessing the scalability of using aqueous binders in industrial applications, considering factors such as cost, production speed, and compatibility with existing manufacturing processes or investigating hybrid systems that combine the benefits of multiple binders.

Sources

Scott, S.; Terreblanche, J.; Thompson, D. L.; Lei, C.; Hartley, J. M.; Abbott, A. P.; Ryder, K. S. Gelatin and alginate binders for simplified battery recycling. Journal of Physical Chemistry. C./Journal of Physical Chemistry. C 2022, 126 (19), 8489–8498. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.2c01282.