Aqueous binder effects of poly(acrylic acid) and carboxy methylated cellulose on anode performance in lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

The binder effect of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and carboxy methylated cellulose (CMC) is investigated based on a metal oxide anode (e.g., Co₃O₄), which was prepared from metal nitrate decomposition without further engineering on the nanostructures and carbon modification. We find that the combined binder of PAA and CMC has a good coupling contribution to the electrochemical performance. Distinct from the traditional approaches pursuing advanced structures and/or carbon modification, the presented strategy herein is more convenient, environment-friendly and available for industrial production. For example, the model of Co₃O₄ can exhibit an extremely high capacity of 700 mA h g⁻¹ at the current density of 200 mA g⁻¹ and a reversible capacity over 620 mA h g⁻¹ beyond 150 cycles. In addition, a model of full batteries employing a pre-lithiated Co₃O₄ anode versus a LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂@AlPO₄ cathode with a higher energy density is studied, demonstrating the availability of the presented PAA/CMC binder towards commercialization. Thus, we conclude that the combined aqueous binder of PAA/CMC can have a positive effect on the electrochemical performance of the metal oxide anodes in lithium (ion) batteries, which may be extended further to other advanced metal-ion (Na⁺, Mg²⁺, Al³⁺, etc.) batteries.