Secondary batteries, particularly Lithium-ion batteries have become ubiquitous as power sources for portable electronic devices, electric vehicles, and renewable energy storage systems to name a few. Despite this success, performance limitations, environmental concerns and geo-politics drive innovation towards further improved and/or alternative battery designs and constructs.
Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a proven and powerful thin film deposition technique that offers exceptional conformality and thickness control, however vacuum based systems limit the applicability for surface coating of foils. BASF has now scaled a Roll-to-Roll Spatial ALD coater to industrial size demonstrating coating on large area foils, under atmospheric conditions. Such a technology is an ideal candidate for improving battery performance and enabling new designs through interfacial coatings.
This poster contribution presents selected examples of ALD coatings applied to high Ni-NMC cathodes and Li metal anodes. By forming an artificial CEI on the cathode surface, the first cycle capacity losses can be reduced, resulting in increased cycle life. Interfacial ALD coatings on Li metal anodes both hinder dendrite formation during electrochemical cycling, and also protect the surface during processing under ambient conditions for over 48 hours simplifying production. These findings demonstrate the potential of ALD to enhance the battery performance of current generation battery systems and enable future battery concepts.