Lithium Ion Battery Electrodes Made Using Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) - A Green Solvent

Ming Wang, Xiaobo Dong, Isabel C. Escobar, Yang Tse Cheng

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

The state-of-the-art manufacturing process of making lithium ion batteries (LIBs) uses a toxic organic and petroleum-derived solvent, N-methylprrolidone (NMP), to dissolve polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) to form a slurry consisting of active materials and conductive agents. Using viscosity and electrochemical measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), we show that the NMP solvent may be replaced by a low toxicity solvent, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), without altering the conventional LIB manufacturing process. The slurries made using DMSO have similar rheological behavior, similar viscosity values, and wettability on the current collector as those made using NMP. The electrochemical behavior of the NMC electrodes made using the two solvents, including their cycling performance, are also similar. Replacing NMP with DMSO thus provides an opportunity to reduce the environmental hazards and cost of the LIB manufacturing.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)11046-11051
Number of pages6
JournalACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering
Volume8
Issue number30
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 3 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We would like to thank Dr. Jiazhi Hu at General Motors for helping with ion beam milling of the samples for cross-sectional observations. We would like to thank Dr. Ramin Amin-Sanayei of Arkema Inc. for providing the PVDF binders used in this work. The work was partially supported by the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Kentucky, and by the National Science Foundation Award 1355438 “Powering the Kentucky Bioeconomy for a Sustainable Future”.

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society.

Keywords

  • Battery manufacturing
  • DMSO
  • Green solvent
  • Lithium-ion batteries
  • Sustainable

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Chemistry (all)
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Chemical Engineering (all)
  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

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