Morphology of nanoporous carbon-binder domains in Li-ion batteries—A FIB-SEM study

FIB-SEM tomography is used to reconstruct the carbon-binder domain (CBD) of a LiCoO2 battery cathode (3.9×5×2.3μm3) with contrast enhancement by ZnO infiltration via atomic layer deposition. We calculate the porosity inside the CBD (57.6%), the cluster-size distribution with a peak at 54nm, and the pore-size distribution with a peak at 64nm. The tortuosities of the pore space (1.6–2.0) and the CBD (2.3–3.5) show a mild anisotropy, which is attributed to the fabrication process. A comparison to a modeled homogenous CBD reveals that clustering in the CBD decreases its electronic conductivity while increasing the ionic diffusivity. To account for the higher calculated diffusivity compared to experimental values from literature, a simple binder swelling model is implemented, suggesting a swelling of 75vol%. The prevention of both clustering and swelling could increase the volume available for active material and therefore the energy density.