Carbon-based electrically conductive particles (cECP) are commonly used to reduce interparticle resistance in Li-ion batteries, but cECP tend to flocculate in the dense slurries used to fabricate electrodes. Herein, a novel dispersant limits flocculated cECP particle size and improves cECP dispersion. The increased cECP efficacy allows reduced addition of carbon to the battery, thereby increasing the ratio of active material to conductive material and increasing volumetric energy density. With/without dispersant LiFePO₄/ketjenblack cathodes are examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), slurry viscosity, electrochemical redox behavior, electrochemical impendence spectroscopy (EIS) and charge/discharge cycling performance. Discharge capacity, durability and resistance are better for the with-dispersant LiFePO₄ cathode. EIS shows reduced interfacial impedance and increased cycling performance for the with-dispersant electrode. SEM shows smooth distribution of nano-scale particles of consistent size with dispersant use. Without dispersant, the cECP particles are micro-scale, with high variability in size and location. It is seen that a good cECP dispersant in the initial electrode slurry improves Li-ion battery performance, primarily because of a more cohesive cECP network between the active material particles.

The capacity fading of <mml:math display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mtext>LiFePO</mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>4</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msub></mml:mrow></mml:math>LiFePO4 batteries using <mml:math display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mn>1.2</mml:mn><mml:mspace width="0.5em"></mml:mspace><mml:mtext>mol</mml:mtext><mml:mspace width="0.5em"></mml:mspace><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mtext>dm</mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:mn>3</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msup></mml:mrow></mml:math>1.2moldm−3 <mml:math display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mtext>LiPF</mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>6</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msub></mml:mrow></mml:math>LiPF6 ethylene carbonate/dimethyl carbonate electrolyte with tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane (TPFPB) additive at <mml:math display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mn>60</mml:mn><mml:mo>°</mml:mo><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">C</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math>60°C is investigated by cyclic voltammetry, cyclability, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The cyclability results show that the <mml:math display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mtext>LiFePO</mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>4</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msub><mml:mo>–</mml:mo><mml:mtext>Li</mml:mtext></mml:mrow></mml:math>LiFePO4–Li cell with the TPFPB additive electrolytes exhibits high discharge capacity and good cycling performance at <mml:math display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mn>60</mml:mn><mml:mo>°</mml:mo><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">C</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math>60°C . The <mml:math display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mtext>LiFePO</mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>4</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msub></mml:mrow></mml:math>LiFePO4 electrode cycled at <mml:math display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mn>60</mml:mn><mml:mo>°</mml:mo><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">C</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math>60°C without the TPFPB additive shows a significant increase in charge-transfer resistance by EIS analysis. The TPFPB additive in the electrolyte reduces the difference in the charge-transfer resistance before and after 100 cycles at elevated temperatures. SEM results show that after 100 cycles at <mml:math display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mn>60</mml:mn><mml:mo>°</mml:mo><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">C</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math>60°C in an electrolyte without TPFPB additive, the <mml:math display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mtext>LiFePO</mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>4</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msub></mml:mrow></mml:math>LiFePO4 electrode forms a visible material on the electrode surface. The observed material is presumably related with capacity fading in the <mml:math display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mtext>LiFePO</mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>4</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msub><mml:mo>–</mml:mo><mml:mtext>Li</mml:mtext></mml:mrow></mml:math>LiFePO4–Li cell. The results indicate that TPFPB in the electrolyte prevents the formation of the observed material on the electrode, reduces charge-transfer resistance, and enhances cycling performance of the <mml:math display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mtext>LiFePO</mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>4</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msub><mml:mo>–</mml:mo><mml:mtext>Li</mml:mtext></mml:mrow></mml:math>LiFePO4–Li cells at <mml:math display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mn>60</mml:mn><mml:mo>°</mml:mo><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">C</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math>60°C .