Alternative binders for sustainable electrochemical energy storage – the transition to aqueous electrode processing and bio-derived polymers

Author(s): Dominic Bresser ¹ ^, ² ^, ³ ^, ⁴ ^, ⁵ , Daniel Buchholz ¹ ^, ² ^, ³ ^, ⁴ ^, ⁵ , Arianna Moretti ¹ ^, ² ^, ³ ^, ⁴ ^, ⁵ , Alberto Varzi ¹ ^, ² ^, ³ ^, ⁴ ^, ⁵ , Stefano Passerini ¹ ^, ² ^, ³ ^, ⁴ ^, ⁵

Publication date (Electronic): 2018

Journal: Energy & Environmental Science

Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)

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Abstract

The choice of the electrode binder strongly affects the environmental friendliness of electrochemical energy storage devices as reviewed herein.

Abstract

In this review, we discuss the most recent developments in the field of green binders for batteries and supercapacitors and explain how they could decrease cost and environmental impact, and yet improve the performance of electrochemical energy devices. The different classes of green binders reported to date in the literature are firstly classified according to their processability (the solvent required for electrode manufacturing), chemical composition (F-free), and natural availability (synthetic or bio-derived). The benefits originating from their employment are analysed for different devices. The most popular lithium-ion batteries are thoroughly discussed both from the anode and the cathode side. While high capacity Si-based anodes benefit from enhanced cyclability due to the interaction between the active particles’ surface and the functional groups of, e.g., polysaccharides such as carboxymethyl cellulose and alginate, the transition to water-processable cathodes is certainly more challenging. In particular, strategies to suppress the aluminium corrosion affecting most lithiated transition metal oxides are discussed. Despite the much more limited literature available, the role of the binder is increasingly recognized in the emerging field of lithium–sulphur and sodium-ion batteries, and electrochemical double layer capacitors and, therefore, here discussed as well.

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Sodium-ion batteries: present and future.

Yang-Kook Sun, Seung-Taek Myung, Jang-Yeon Hwang (2017)

Energy production and storage technologies have attracted a great deal of attention for day-to-day applications. In recent decades, advances in lithium-ion battery (LIB) technology have improved living conditions around the globe. LIBs are used in most mobile electronic devices as well as in zero-emission electronic vehicles. However, there are increasing concerns regarding load leveling of renewable energy sources and the smart grid as well as the sustainability of lithium sources due to their limited availability and consequent expected price increase. Therefore, whether LIBs alone can satisfy the rising demand for small- and/or mid-to-large-format energy storage applications remains unclear. To mitigate these issues, recent research has focused on alternative energy storage systems. Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are considered as the best candidate power sources because sodium is widely available and exhibits similar chemistry to that of LIBs; therefore, SIBs are promising next-generation alternatives. Recently, sodiated layer transition metal oxides, phosphates and organic compounds have been introduced as cathode materials for SIBs. Simultaneously, recent developments have been facilitated by the use of select carbonaceous materials, transition metal oxides (or sulfides), and intermetallic and organic compounds as anodes for SIBs. Apart from electrode materials, suitable electrolytes, additives, and binders are equally important for the development of practical SIBs. Despite developments in electrode materials and other components, there remain several challenges, including cell design and electrode balancing, in the application of sodium ion cells. In this article, we summarize and discuss current research on materials and propose future directions for SIBs. This will provide important insights into scientific and practical issues in the development of SIBs.

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A major constituent of brown algae for use in high-capacity Li-ion batteries.

Igor Kovalenko, Bogdan Zdyrko, Alexandre Magasinski … (2011)

The identification of similarities in the material requirements for applications of interest and those of living organisms provides opportunities to use renewable natural resources to develop better materials and design better devices. In our work, we harness this strategy to build high-capacity silicon (Si) nanopowder-based lithium (Li)-ion batteries with improved performance characteristics. Si offers more than one order of magnitude higher capacity than graphite, but it exhibits dramatic volume changes during electrochemical alloying and de-alloying with Li, which typically leads to rapid anode degradation. We show that mixing Si nanopowder with alginate, a natural polysaccharide extracted from brown algae, yields a stable battery anode possessing reversible capacity eight times higher than that of the state-of-the-art graphitic anodes.