Analyzing the Effect of Nano-Sized Conductive Additive Content on Cathode Electrode Performance in Sulfide All-Solid-State Lithium-Ion Batteries

All-solid-state lithium-ion batteries (ASSLBs) have recently received significant attention due to their exceptional energy/power densities, inherent safety, and long-term electrochemical stability. However, to achieve energy- and power-dense ASSLBs, the cathode composite electrodes require optimum ionic and electrical pathways and hence the development of electrode designs that facilitate such requirements is necessary. Among the various available conductive materials, carbon black (CB) is typically considered as a suitable carbon additive for enhancing electrode conductivity due to its affordable price and electrical-network-enhancing properties. In this study, we examined the effect of different weight percentages (wt%) of nano-sized CB as a conductive additive within a cathode composite made up of Ni-rich cathode material (LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2) and solid electrolyte (Li6PS5Cl). Composites including 3 wt%, 5 wt%, and 7 wt% CB were produced, achieving capacity retentions of 66.1%, 65.4%, and 44.6% over 50 cycles at 0.5 C. Despite an increase in electrical conductivity of the 7 wt% CB sample, a significantly lower capacity retention was observed. This was attributed to the increased resistance at the solid electrolyte/cathode material interface, resulting from the presence of excessive CB. This study confirms that an excessive amount of nano-sized conductive material can affect the interfacial resistance between the solid electrolyte and the cathode active material, which is ultimately more important to the electrochemical performance than the electrical pathways.