Printed carbon black thermocouple as in-situ thermal sensor for lithium-ion cell

Thermal monitoring of Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIB) is crucial for ensuring its optimal, and safe operation. Therefore, to collect the most reliable temperature of LIB, previous studies have installed commercial thermocouples in-situ of the cell to collect the most accurate temperature. Utilizing commercial thermocouples was proved to be technically feasible, however it presents cost and scale-up limitations. In this work, low-cost and scalable printed carbon black thermocouples were developed to study its feasibility for in-situ thermal monitoring of LIB. Given the right manufacturing parameters, it was found that thermal sensors can be printed on electrodes, installed in-situ of a pouch cell, and be operated with low errors after calibration. However, to reliably utilize carbon black thermocouples in-operando of a pouch cell, its chemical resistance against electrolyte must be further developed.