An electrode design study: laser structuring of anodes for fast-charging of batteries

Graphite anodes with high areal loading of 3.6 mAh cm⁻² were laser structured with various design patterns using an ultrashort pulsed laser system of high average power (⪆300 W). The upscaling potential of the most common pattern types in literature, namely the line, grid, and hexagonal hole pattern were evaluated and the influence of process parameters like laser fluence and repetition rate on the ablation characteristics were examined. The fast-charging capability of full-cells containing structured graphite anodes were studied with NMC622 cathodes. For each structure pattern the onset of lithium plating during fast-charging was determined by differential voltage analysis of the voltage relaxation.