Bundled and densified carbon nanotubes (CNT) fabrics as flexible ultra-light weight Li-ion battery anode current collectors

Abstract Carbon nanotubes (CNT) fabrics were studied and evaluated as anode current collectors, replacing the traditional copper foil current collector in Li-ion batteries. Glavanostatic measurements reveal high values of irreversible capacities (as high as 28%), resulted mainly from the formation of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer at the CNT fabric surface. Various pre-treatments to the CNT fabric prior to active anode material loading have shown that the lowest irreversible capacity is achieved by immersing and washing the CNT fabric with iso-propanol (IPA), which dramatically modified the fabric surface. Additionally, the use of very thin CNT fabrics (5 μm) results in a substantial irreversible capacity minimization. A combination of IPA rinse action and utilization of the thinnest CNT fabric provides the lowest irreversible capacity of 13%. The paper describes innovative and rather simple techniques towards a complete implementation of CNT fabric as an anode current collector in Li-ion batteries, instead of the relatively heavy and expensive copper foil, enabling an improvement in the gravimetric and volumetric energy densities of such advanced batteries.