Freestanding Electrode Pairs with High Areal Density Fabricated under High Pressure and High Temperature for Flexible Lithium Ion Batteries

The emerging market of wearable smart electronics calls for flexible energy storage solutions with high performance but low cost. To fulfill this demand, a novel method involving high-pressure and high-temperature filtration has been developed to fabricate flexible and freestanding thin-film electrodes with high packing density for lithium ion batteries. The method is universal, can be used for fabricating both cathodes and anodes, and is applicable for most electrochemically active materials. No organic solvent is involved throughout the fabrication process, demonstrating excellent environmental benignity. Despite of the absence of current collectors, electrochemical characterizations on a pair of proof-of-concept anode (graphite) and cathode (lithium iron phosphate) reveal good areal capacity and rate capability. Prototype full pouch cells constructed using the electrode pair demonstrate excellent deformability, durability, and power output, promising for practical implementation with low fabrication cost.