Using Our Materials to Create
High-Performance Batteries
ARKEMA PRODUCT HIDE-AND-SEEK?
1 Used in small amounts in electrodes, Kynar® PVDF offers high electrochemical stability, giving it a key role as an electrode binder. It makes active particles adhere to the current collectors (metal for the cathode and graphite for the anode). The active particles’ function is to attract and capture the ions during both charging and discharging. Kynar® binder is so effective that very little is needed, leaving more room for the active particles. Depending on the direction of motion, this improves either the battery’s charging time or its energy efficiency and range. Kynar® PVDF’s resistance to high voltages and the electrolyte’s solvent make it an excellent material to protect the separator film, which is subjected to very high stress during charging phases and when the vehicle is running. It extends battery life significantly while reducing energy losses and charging times by promoting optimized circulation of the ions and electrons in the electrolyte.
2 Tapping into our cutting-edge expertise in fluoro-chemicals, we are developing innovative electrolytes(LI-FSI and LI-TDI) under the Foranext® label. They offer much better stability at high voltages than current solutions and will help to improve the battery’s range, shorten its charging time and extend its life.
3 Adding a small quantity of carbon nanotubes to the cathode (around 2% of the formulation) is another way to optimize performance. Arkema is one of the world’s few producers of these additives with proven electrical conductive properties, which promote the migration of the electrons from the cathode to the anode, shortening battery charging time. We are currently developing a process to make the carbon nanotubes pure enough to be perfectly stable in the cell.
More Compact Means Higher Performance
We constantly enhance our Kynar® PVDF grades’ performances to reduce the amounts needed in the cell; these have gradually fallen from 8% to 1.5% of the formulation today. “This lets OEMs increase the quantity of active particles on the electrodes by the same amount, boosting the battery’s energy density,” explains Thomas Fine, Global Market Manager Batteries, Technical Polymers.
