Safety-enhancing electrode additives for Li-ion batteries

sing α-Al₂O₃ and Li₂TiO₃ as safety additives in the positive and negative electrodes of Li-ion battery respectively, a mechanism model of safety additives has been proposed, and the effects of these two additives on the electrochemical performances and safety performances were investigated systematically. The electrochemical performance test results showed that energy density of Li-ion battery will reduce slightly as a result of safety additive; meanwhile, the rate performance is not affected. 82.3% capacity retention at 5C discharge rateis obtained and the battery's cycle life is expected to reach 2409 times (calculated as 80% DOD) compared with 896 times of the control battery. The safety performance test results showed that the battery with electrode safety additives could pass strict safety tests such as punch test, shock test and external short circuit test. The presence of safety additives could avoid the occurrence of local hot spots inside the battery effectively and turn the uncontrollable internal short circuit into controllable low rate discharge, which improves the battery's safety significantly, demonstrating a good application prospects in commercialization.