Laser ablation of electrodes for Li-ion battery remanufacturing

Formation of solid electrolyte interface (SEI) on the electric vehicle (EV) battery electrodes has been indicated as major cause of capacity deterioration in the electric vehicle battery. This paper describes process for the removal of SEI deposited on the EV battery electrodes during continuous cycling. Laser fluence ranging from 0.308 to 2.720 J/cm² was used to irradiate surfaces of degraded battery electrodes to ablate SEI. Ablation of SEI from the surface of electrodes was done to enable recovery of electrodes for EV battery remanufacturing. Analytical tools including scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and electrochemical measurements are used to assess structural changes in the recovered electrodes and determine the functionalities. The analysis show promising results for the restoration of cyclability of recovered electrode to new-like condition.