Shaping of advanced ceramics: The case of composite electrodes for lithium batteries

Composite electrodes for electrochemical energy storage systems, such as lithium batteries, are mixtures of a ceramic powder, an electronic conducting agent, often carbon black, and a polymeric binder. Such a complex medium must provide efficient transport of electrons and ions from the current collector/electrode and electrolyte/electrode interfaces, respectively, to the grain surface of the ceramic. It seems quite obvious that the morphology within the composite electrode should have an influence on the electrode performance. However, such an issue has never been studied yet. Here we study composite electrodes prepared by the tape casting method, with the purpose to gain better understanding of the relationships between: the suspension properties, the morphology within the dried composite electrode, and the resulting electrochemical properties.