Electroactive materials are typically incorporated into batteries through the fabrication of composite electrodes including additives to enhance conductivity and to mechanically bind the components. These structures provide an opportunity to decrease inert material content if multifunctional materials can be designed and employed. For example, redox active materials that incorporate silver cation (Ag⁺) demonstrate the possibility for in-situ generation of an electrically conductive percolation network of Ag⁰ metallic nanoparticles through a reduction displacement reaction. This paradigm has been demonstrated with silver vanadium phosphorous oxide (Ag₂VO₂PO₄) where the electrical conductivity increased 15,000-fold upon lithiation.

This presentation provides new strategies for the deliberate design of composite materials taking advantage of the opportunity for in-situ reduction displacement to form conductive networks. Several new approaches will be described. These include a one pot synthetic approach for the direct formation of a composite where one component is silver ion containing and the second is not. Additionally, surface modification approaches to generate conductive surface coatings will be introduced. These methods can significantly benefit the electrochemistry compared to composites formed by mechanical mixing alone, as will be illustrated in this presentation.