Impact of electrochemical wiring topology on the kinetics of insertion electrodes

The effect of electrochemical wiring topology (that is, spatial arrangement of ionically and electronically conducting contacts attached to the active particles) on the kinetics of lithium insertion electrodes, such as LiFePO4, is considered. To compare the kinetics of differently wired electrodes, a convenient parameter – electrode resistance normalized per its unit mass – is introduced. The normalized electrode resistance is calculated for several examples of parallel wiring topology, from the ideal case to the point contacting by electron conductor. The variation of the electrode resistance with particle size is discussed. The results are compared to corresponding measurements on LiFePO4 electrodes. In the last section, the impact of ionic wiring on electrode performance is briefly touched upon.