Evaluation of particle size of positive electrode active material

This presentation introduces the composition analysis of cathode active materials using ICP emission analysis. The cathode material of lithium-ion batteries (LIB) is one of the important components that influence the battery's voltage and energy density, and the composition of the cathode material significantly affects the battery's performance. ICP emission analysis allows for qualitative and quantitative analysis of approximately 70 elements, primarily metal elements. It can be applied not only to the composition analysis of LIB cathode materials but also to the qualitative and quantitative analysis of additives and impurities contained in samples, as well as the quantitative analysis of substances regulated by the RoHS directive, among various other analyses.

We would like to introduce a case of particle size measurement of cathode active materials using laser diffraction conducted by our company. In air or in a liquid, laser light is irradiated onto the particles, and the angular dependence of the intensity of the light scattered by the particles is measured. By measuring the angular dependence of the scattered light intensity, the particle size distribution (particle size distribution) is calculated from the data. Using commercially available reagents as samples, measurements were conducted in a dry state without dispersing in a solvent. The results of the particle size measurement of NMC oxide showed that the particles were in a monodisperse state with sizes below several tens of micrometers, and the median diameter was calculated to be 12 micrometers.