Improving silicon-rich electrode manufacturing with electrochemical fluorescent microscopy

Principal investigator: Maureen Tang

University: Drexel University

Industry partner: Arkema, Inc.

This collaboration between Drexel University and Arkema develops methods to predict the performance and lifetime of battery electrodes while improving Arkema’s manufacturing technology. Drexel researchers have recently developed a new method to visualize connections between particles in battery electrodes. This project will apply Drexel’s method to Arkema’s silicon-rich battery electrodes. Replacing graphite with silicon would improve the performance and cost of next-generation batteries, but silicon batteries have insufficient lifetime. Arkema is currently developing new polymers to improve silicon battery lifetime. However, battery lifetime tests take weeks or even months, which means that each manufacturing improvement takes a long time to be validated. This work proposes to develop algorithms that use images from Drexel’s visualization method to predict the battery performance and lifetime without expensive lifetime tests. If successful, these algorithms will greatly decrease the cost of manufacturing innovations for Arkema and many other companies.