Theoretical Impact of Manufacturing Tolerance on Lithium-Ion Electrode and Cell Physical Properties

The range of electrode porosity, electrode internal void volume, cell capacity, and capacity ratio that result from electrode coating and calendering tolerance can play a considerable role in cell-to-cell and lot-to-lot performance variation. Based on a coating loading tolerance of +/- 0.4 mg/cm(2) and calender tolerance of +/- 3.0 mu m, the resulting theoretical range of physical properties was investigated. For a target positive electrode porosity of 30%, the resulting porosity can range from 19.6% to 38.6%. To account for this variation during the manufacturing process, as much as 41% excess or as little as 59% of the target electrolyte quantity should be added to cells to match the positive electrode void volume. Similar results are reported for a negative electrode of 40% target porosity, where a range from 30.8% to 48.0% porosity is possible. For the negative electrode as little as 72% up to 28% excess electrolyte should be added to fill the internal void space. Although the results are specific to each electrode composition, density, chemistry, and loading the presented process highlight the possible variability of the produced parts. These results are further magnified as cell design moves toward higher power applications with thinner electrode coatings.