Methodology in quality control for electrode processing

Lithium-ion electrode manufacture is a complex multi-stage process, and so quality control is vital at each stage to maintain production speed and reduce wastage. Current electrode manufacture is based on a slurry casting process, where the dry ingredients are suspended in a minimum of solvent to form a slurry, which is coated onto a current collector, dried to remove the solvent, and the coating calendared (compressed) to a target porosity (Figure 14.1). However future technologies may include dry processing or alternative deposition methods. Quality control is performed at several key stages of the process; on the raw material components, the slurry mix before coating, the coating during deposition, after drying, and after calendaring.