Water-processable Li4Ti5O12 electrodes featuring eco-friendly sodium alginate binder

Electrodes based on Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) with sodium alginate (SA) binder featuring high percentage of active material and operating in glyme-based electrolyte are here proposed for the first time. Three electrode formulations operating in ethylene carbonate: dimethyl carbonate-1M LiPF6 (LP30) and 1 m lithium bis(trifluoromethane) sulfonimide - tetraglyme were tested in half-cell vs. Li and compared to conventional 80% LTO and 10% polyvinylidene fluoride binder. Electrodes with 87% LTO and 3% SA binder show the best performance, with good rate capability and excellent cycling stability over 600 cycles at 1C in both electrolytes. The use of SA is beneficial as it allows made-in-water electrode manufacturing in absence of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, a toxic and expensive solvent required by fluorinated binders. SA also permits to decrease its amount to 3% increasing the active material percentage, and to develop a final device with higher specific energy.