3D Printed Flexible Lithium-Ion Batteries with Improved Cycling Performance

3D printing technology, one of the additive manufacturing techniques, has shown remarkable promise in creating flexible and tailor-made high-performance batteries, which are in high demand for the upcoming era of intelligent and widespread energy usage. Nonetheless, a notable performance disparity, particularly in terms of cycling stability, still persists between 3D-printed electrodes and traditional counterparts, severely constraining the practical utility of 3D-printed batteries. This presentation discusses the development of a range of 3D-printed electrodes based on thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) using fused deposition modeling for high-performance, flexible, and customizable lithium-ion batteries. The TPU-based electrode filaments are produced in significant quantities through a straightforward extrusion method. Consequently, the electrodes are printed with precision, offering excellent dimensional accuracy, flexibility, and mechanical stability. Notably, 3D-printed TPU-LFP electrodes demonstrate an impressive capacity retention of 100% after 300 cycles at 1C, representing one of the most robust cycling performances among all reported 3D-printed electrodes. This exceptional performance can be attributed to the outstanding stress-absorbing characteristics of the TPU-based electrodes, which effectively accommodate the volume changes during cycling and thus substantially prevent the collapse of the 3D-printed electrode structures. These findings not only open up new possibilities for creating adaptable and flexible batteries but also pave the way for bridging the performance gap between 3D-printed and traditional lithium-ion batteries.