Iran Developing Advanced Lithium-Ion Battery Industry
“Lithium-ion batteries are a new generation of batteries in the world that have experienced significant growth in the last three decades. Now, some work has started in this field initially in Iran, but on a global scale, we have a big gap with leading countries. More investments and efforts are needed to be made in this field,” Mohammad Ali Baqerian told ANA.
“Fortunately, several knowledge-based companies have now entered this field and have been able to develop these technologies to a Technology Maturity Level (TRL) of six, and have even made innovations in some of these components that are notable on a global scale,” he added.
In a relevant development in January, Iranian researchers at the University of Tehran had presented a new method for improving the performance of structural lithium-ion batteries.
The results of this study show that the use of materials like polyurethane binders and carbon fiber current collectors in LiFePO₄ electrodes of lithium-ion batteries can contribute to the energy storage capacity, cyclic stability, and overall efficiency of these batteries.
“In this study, PU and PVDF-HFP-g-PSSA binders were used as alternatives to traditional binders. Binders, as adhesives for electrode components, play an important role in mechanical strength and electrochemical efficiency. These binders provide smooth paths for lithium ion transport within the electrode by reducing the concentration polarization,” said Mojtaba Haqiqi Yazdi, the head of the research group.
“Also, with high flexibility and significant chemical and mechanical resistance, they can perform better than common binders against the degradation of the cathode structure and the separation of the electrode active materials from the surface of the current collectors due to the volume fluctuations of the electrodes, which mainly occur due to the repeated entry and exit of ions in the charge and discharge cycles,” he added.
Noting that in this study, the carbon fiber current collector has replaced traditional materials like aluminum and copper, Haqiqi Yazdi said, “This material plays an important role in reducing the weight of the battery and increasing its efficiency due to its lightness, corrosion resistance and high conductivity, and the possibility of storing energy due to the carbon structure. The simultaneous combination of these two innovations has significantly improved the electrochemical and mechanical performance of LiFePO₄ electrodes.”
“The experiments conducted in this study have shown that the use of PU and PVDF-HFP-g-PSSA binders and carbon fiber current collectors significantly improves the energy storage capacity and the number of charge and discharge cycles of the battery. This new combination also increases the battery's lifespan and improves its mechanical stability at the macro and micro scales,” he added.
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