Strategies for optimizing dry battery electrode performance

The growing interest in dry battery electrode (DBE) production as a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to conventional wet coating processes for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) necessitates strategies to enhance electrode performance and fully realize the technology's potential. This study investigates the impact of different current collector pretreatments and an advanced asymmetric calendering process on the electrochemical performance of dry-coated NMC622-based cathodes. We explore how the surface properties of the current collector influence the adhesion and contact resistance of the dry-coated electrodes, deriving guidelines for the design of suitable pretreatments. The asymmetric calendering method, which employs a difference in the circumferential speed of the calender rolls, allows to effectively control electrode thickness and porosity, enabling the production of electrodes suitable for high-energy and high-power applications. Notably, electrodes with a low PTFE binder content of 1 wt% can be produced using this approach, improving electrical conductivity and tortuosity, and consequently leading to enhanced rate capabilities and cycling stability compared to wet-coated electrodes. • Primer- and etched-foils enable robust dry-coated NMC622 cathodes. • Asymmetric calendering controls thickness, loading, porosity. • 1 wt% PTFE lowers tortuosity and improves electrode conductivity. • Dry-coated cathodes outperform wet-coated in rate capability.