Preparation and examination of carbon- and binder-free electrodes used in lithium-ion cells

Carbon- and binder-free layered-oxide and spinel-oxide electrodes of various compositions have been prepared to determine performance degradation mechanisms of Li-ion cells that are associated with the active materials. In this work, we report the preparation of these sub-micrometer thick electrodes by a non-aqueous sol–gel spin coating on a Pt foil substrate. The active materials were characterized by various techniques including X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Electrode properties were evaluated before and after accelerated aging by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic cycling and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.