3D Paper-Based Lithium-Ion Batteries Using Origami Folding Principles

Recently, there has been much interest in the development of energy storage and electronic devices using paper and textile components. The low cost, roll-to-roll fabrication methods, flexibility, and bendability of these substrates are attractive for high-performance devices. Many flexible devices demonstrated using paper or cellulose components include organic field effect transistors, RF devices, sensors, microfluidics, displays, transparent conducting films, and light-emitting diodes and 3D antennas. Specifically for energy storage and conversion applications, the ability for the power source to be intimately integrated to unconventional substrates has motivated research in flexible devices such as batteries, supercapacitors, nanogenerators, solar cells, and fuel cells.

For applications such as MEMS, smart dust motes, and on-chip power, there is an increasing need for batteries with high energy areal energy due to the limited area available in the device. However, it is difficult to increase the energy per footprint area in 2D, planar devices since increasing the thickness of the active material layers also leads to a corresponding increase in resistivity and decrease in electrochemical performance.

To address these issues, we have taken an approach that uses the conventional 2D planar battery platform but applies origami folding concepts typically used to fold paper into more compact shapes in order to realize a Li-ion battery with higher areal charge storage capacity. Origami paper folding techniques, namely the Miura-ori pattern, were used to compact a Li-ion battery and increase its energy per footprint area. Full cells were prepared using Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ and LiCoO₂ powders deposited onto paper coated with carbon nanotubes as current collectors. Our 5 x 5 folded cell was found to display a ~14X increase in areal energy density compared to the planar version. 

 References:

Q. Cheng, Z. Song, T. Ma, B.B. Smith, R. Tang, H. Yu, H. Jiang, C.K. Chan, Nano Lett., 13, 4969-4974 (2013).

Z. Song, T. Ma, R. Tang, Q. Cheng, X. Wang, D. Krishnaraju, R. Panat, C.K. Chan, H. Yu, H. Jiang, Nature Commun., 5, 3140 (2013).