Date of Graduation
5-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Mechanical Engineering
Advisor/Mentor
Meng, Xiangbo
Abstract
Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are currently the best method to store electrical energy for use in portable electronics and electronic vehicles. New cathode materials for LIBs are consistently studied and researched, but few are as promising and attainable as nickel-rich transition metal oxides such as LiNi1-x-yMnxCoyO2 (NMC). NMC materials exist with many different mass ratios, but higher nickel content materials provide higher energy density. With this increase in capacity comes a sacrifice with cyclability, as high-nickel NMC variants are prone to structure collapse, transition metal dissolution, and cracks due to volume change. In this report, mechanical modification of the electrode by 3D printing is explored as a method to stabilize the cathode structure through optimization of lithiation paths and accommodation of volume change. 3D printed NMC 811 shows substantially higher capacity retention and structure health after cycling at low-rate testing compared with traditional doctor-bladed NMC 811, revealing a scalable and facile method of improving the cyclability of nickel-rich cathode material.
Keywords
Lithium Ion Batteries; 3D Printing; Printed Electrode; Cyclability
Citation
Sullivan, M. (2022). Enhancing Stability of High-Nickel Cathodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries through Additive Manufacturing of Cathode Structure. Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/meeguht/110
Included in
Energy Systems Commons, Other Materials Science and Engineering Commons, Other Mechanical Engineering Commons, Service Learning Commons
