Development and experimental results of continuous coating technology for lithium-ion electrodes

The production of lithium-ion cells is highly amenable to a continuous coating process for both anodes and cathodes with their respective thin metal foil current collectors serving as a web. Two methods of coating have been studied, simultaneous dual sided extrusion coating and a one side at a time knife over roll method, for efficiency of production and uniformity of electrodes in terms of thickness and consistency of weight loading. In addition, the effect of mixing and rheology of slurries and their effect on finished cathodes have been demonstrated. Experimental results are presented using electrodes fabricated from the best coating method