Quality Assurance for Battery Materials

The development of new active materials for the cathode, anode, and separator helps improve the capacity, charging behavior, and lifetime in a cost-effective way. Though adding silicon to the anode can increase energy density, the potential impact on battery lifetime must be monitored.

ZEISS electron and X-ray microscopy solutions support enhanced battery performance and safety, with their imaging and analysis crucial for determining the relevant material properties.

Poor battery material mixing and low-pressure calendering leads to voids in the binder material and excessive spacing of cathode particles. Inspection with 3D X-ray microscopy can counter negative effects such as suboptimal energy density or poor charging capacity.

This video shows two cathodes that have been compressed at different calendering pressures. The resulting variations in particle packing density and electrode porosity affect the electrochemical performance of the cells.