New 3D-printing method may improve smartphone batteries

Scientists, including Indian-born scientists, have developed a new way to 3D print battery components that can greatly increase the capacity and life of smartphone batteries.
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, can be used to make porous electrodes for lithiumion batteries.
However, due to the nature of the manufacturing process, the design of these 3D printed electrodes is limited to several possible structures.
Scientists, including Indian-born scientists, have developed a new way to 3D print battery components that can greatly increase the capacity and life of smartphone batteries.
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, can be used to make porous electrodes for lithiumion batteries.
However, due to the nature of the manufacturing process, the design of these 3D printed electrodes is limited to several possible structures.
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Missouri University of Science and Technology in the United States have developed a method for 3D printing battery electrodes, which creates 3D microstructures with controlled hole rates.
\"In the case of lithium --
Ion batteries, electrodes with porous structures can lead to higher charging capacity, \"said Rahul Panat, associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
\"This is because this structure allows lithium to penetrate the electrode volume, thereby increasing the utilization rate of the electrode, thereby increasing the storage capacity,\" Panat said . \".
3D printing this micro-structure increases capacity and charge
Discharge rate of lithium
According to research published in the journal additive manufacturing, ion batteries.
So far, the internal geometry that produces the best porous electrode through additive manufacturing is the so-called cross-Finger geometry --
The metal spires are intertwined like the fingers of the two clenched hands, and lithium shuttles between the two hands. Lithium-
If the electrode of the ion battery has pores and channels on the micro-scale, the capacity can be greatly increased.
Although it does allow lithium to be effectively transmitted through the battery during charging and discharging, the fork Finger geometry is not optimal.
\"In a normal battery, 30-
Half of the total volume of the electrode is not utilized.
Panat said: \"Our method is to overcome this problem by using 3D printing, in 3D printing, we created a micro-electrode structure that allows lithium to be transmitted efficiently through the entire electrode, which
This study represents significant progress in 3D battery structure printing complex geometry and is also an important step in geometric optimization of 3D electrical energy storage configuration.
The researchers estimate that the technology will be around 2-3 years.