Blended Positive Electrodes for Li-ion Batteries: from Empiricism to Rational Design

Physical mixtures (i. e. blends) of two or more active materials are often used in commercial batteries to achieve better performance than what can be attained with a single component. This approach has been empirically driven and found to result in relevant synergistic improvements that are unfortunately poorly understood at a fundamental level. Indeed, internal redox processes (which induce structural changes in the components) can take place in blended electrodes that are severely influenced by electrode kinetics. These are in turn affected by temperature and also electrode formulation. Despite difficulties ahead, efforts to understand such issues are needed to pave the way for a rational electrode design enabling optimized performance which ideally could be tuned to match specific application requirements.

Automated summary

Blends of active materials in commercial batteries are often used to achieve better performance, but the synergistic improvements in blended electrodes are poorly understood. More research efforts are needed to understand the internal redox processes and electrode kinetics influencing the performance of mixed components.