After hundreds of intelligent and directional "trial and error" research and development, we successfully started to produce ultra-thin foam microporous copper foil (10-20 μ m, porosity 90%) and ultra-thin foam microporous aluminum foil (15-30 μ m, porosity 85%) for sample delivery. This product, with its disruptive structural characteristics, immediately received procurement and testing orders from top battery manufacturers upon its launch, indicating that it may play a key role in the next generation of battery technology, especially in the cutting-edge field of "sodium/lithium batteries with fewer negative electrodes/self generated negative electrodes".
What is "foam microporous foil"? What core pain points does it solve?
Traditional current collectors (positive electrode aluminum foil, negative electrode copper foil) are dense metal foils whose main function is to collect and conduct electrons. The foam microporous foil can be understood as a "three-dimensional porous conductive framework" type collector.
Its core advantages lie in:
1. Ultra high porosity (85% -90%): means that the vast majority of its volume is empty, providing enormous space and capacity for the filling of active substances.
2. Ultra thin and strong: while maintaining an extremely thin thickness, its three-dimensional structure combined with a high elongation at break conductive micro coating adhesive system can outperform the mechanical strength and flexibility of traditional foil materials.
3. Huge specific surface area: combined with ordered and starry foam, the three-dimensional network structure makes its surface area much larger than that of two-dimensional plane foil, reducing contact impedance and current density.
4. Suitable pore size and spacing range: These characteristics solve the core pain points of the current battery technology route of "few negative electrodes/self generated negative electrodes" at low cost while pursuing ultra-high energy density. It can ensure the capacity, rate performance, and cycle life of the battery without the need for existing sodium battery hard carbon and lithium battery graphite.
Revolutionary application prospects in the field of "fewer negative electrodes/self generated negative electrodes"
The "less negative electrode" technology aims to greatly reduce the use of pre lithiation/pre sodiation negative electrode materials; The "self generated negative electrode" is more radical, usually assembled without a negative electrode or with only a very thin special seed layer. Metal ions are obtained from the positive electrode during the first charge, and a layer of negative electrode is "self generated" on the negative electrode current collector. The foam foil provides an ideal anode "base" for these two technologies.
1. Sodium ion battery: ingenious application of foam aluminum foil
Traditionally, aluminum and sodium undergo alloying reactions at low potentials, so copper foil is commonly used as the current collector for sodium negative electrodes. Although the special seed layer and conductive carbon coating layer can partially solve this problem, the emergence of foam aluminum foil has opened a new idea for the design of sodium negative electrode.
1.1 As the host of "self generated negative electrode": the ultra-thin foam aluminum foil itself can be used as the negative collector. Its huge three-dimensional space and specific surface area can efficiently accommodate the sodium metal precipitated during the first charge discharge process. This structure can effectively disperse current density, suppress dendrite growth, and enhance safety.
1.2 Perfect combination with porous carbon materials: excellent pore size and uniformity, and ultra-high porosity, suitable for micro galvanized, tin plated, nickel plated VGCF (vapor grown carbon fiber), crystal grade carbon tubes and other porous carbon series, foam aluminum foil can become a powerful "active framework".
For example, galvanized and tinned foam aluminum foil: galvanized is an excellent sodium ion anode material, which is micro plated on the foam aluminum framework to form a high-performance anode that integrates conductivity, sodium affinity and lithium affinity buffer volume expansion, and provides a sodium storage site.
1.3 VGCF/crystal grade carbon tube composite foam foil: these carbon materials with high specific surface area and stable structure are filled or grown in the three-dimensional channels of the foam foil to build an excellent conductive network and ion transmission channel, which greatly improves the capacity and cycle stability of the negative electrode.
1.4 The unique sintered foam copper and microporous copper form nano mesopores on the inner and outer walls, with the specific surface area far exceeding that of silicon negative electrode and lithium metal negative electrode (difficult stability) (huge expansion problem). foam copper combines copper sintering technology perfectly on the basis of its unique microporous technology.
2. Lithium battery: the lithium free anode of foam copper foil is "skillfully combined"
In the technology of lithium battery without negative electrode, the value of foam copper foil is more prominent.
Ideal lithium metal deposition substrate: In a non negative electrode battery, lithium metal needs to be uniformly deposited on the copper foil during the first charge. Traditional smooth copper foil is prone to local growth of lithium dendrites and the formation of "dead lithium". The three-dimensional porous structure of foam microporous copper foil can "lock" lithium metal inside the hole, realize uniform nucleation and deposition of ultra-high specific surface, and significantly improve coulomb efficiency and safety performance.
"Ingenious combination" of carbon fiber: As you said, carbon fiber (such as VGCF crystal grade carbon tube) can be combined with foam copper to build a lithium loving conductive network in its pores. This network can not only guide the uniform deposition of lithium, but also effectively buffer the volume changes during the charging and discharging process, which is one of the key technological paths to achieve long-life non negative lithium batteries.
As a strengthening framework of "few negative electrodes": even if a small amount of silicon carbon or graphite negative electrode is used and its slurry is filled into foam copper foil, a thin negative electrode coating can be formed without cracking, embrittlement and falling off. At the same time, the three-dimensional conductive network ensures excellent magnification performance, with a thickness of only 1/10, 2/100 of the original, so as to achieve higher energy density, and has huge cost advantages.
For more details pls visit our product Link: https://www.lyhsmetal.com/copper/microporous-aluminum-foil.html
Cost advantages and industry impact after large-scale modulus production
This unique technology enables the product to achieve stable and low-cost mass production, and its cost advantage will come from two aspects: first, the production speed of the material itself, and the high porosity, which saves materials and reduces weight; The second is the decrease in comprehensive manufacturing and performance costs of batteries brought about by it (almost without the need for negative terminal equipment, site, and process investment), which will overturn the entire negative electrode industry of batteries.
The impact on the battery industry
1. Accelerating the commercialization of "no negative electrode/few negative electrodes" technology: providing the most critical underlying material solution for this most promising high-energy density technology route, making batteries with energy densities of 500Wh/kg and above a reality within existing systems and equipment capabilities.
2. Promoting breakthroughs in the performance of sodium ion batteries: providing a new platform for the design of sodium negative electrodes, which is expected to solve the problems of low carbon material capacity and large volume expansion of alloy materials in sodium negative electrodes, further improving the energy density and cycle life of sodium batteries, and greatly enhancing their competitiveness against lithium batteries.
3. Reshaping battery manufacturing processes: may require the development of new electrode slurry filling, roller pressing technologies, and even give rise to a completely new "current collector electrode integration" manufacturing process.
The impact on the foil industry
1. The upgrade from "commodity" to "technological product": Fluid collectors are no longer just standardized metal sheets, but have become high-tech barrier products with complex microstructures and customized functions. The focus of industry value will shift from simple processing fees to technology premiums.
2. Triggering a new round of technology competition: Traditional foil giants such as Nord and Jiayuan will face huge challenges and must invest in research and development to follow up on similar porous current collector technologies, otherwise they will face the risk of market disruption.
3. Industrial chain reconstruction: upstream equipment manufacturers need to develop equipment capable of producing such ultra-thin, high porosity foam metal; Downstream battery factories need to reassess their supply chain and deeply bind with foil suppliers with core innovation capabilities in advance.
For more details pls visit our product Link: https://www.lyhsmetal.com/copper/copper-foil/microporous-copper-foil.html
Product Pictures
Microporous 3D Copper Foil Microporous 3D Aluminum Foil Foam Microporous Cu Foil /Al Foil
Application Direction
Three dimensional current collectors are an important direction for the development of the battery industry, and three-dimensional current collector technology is the technical guarantee for the commercialization of silicon carbon, lithium solid-state, and advanced lithium-ion batteries.
The six major application directions of three-dimensional current collectors are: no negative electrode/self generation, solid/semi-solid state, supercapacitor/dry capacitor, silicon carbon negative electrode, dry conductive strong skeleton, thermal conductivity/heat capacity/adsorption/filtration.
High binding/low impedance/high magnification/low temperature resistance
Embedding and penetrating active materials to prevent detachment, extend battery life, stabilize cycling, increase electrode electrolyte contact area, reduce charge transfer resistance, connect up and down, double the conductive carrying area, and reduce impedance
Reducing current density and guiding dendrite suppression
Flame retardant, phase change, PTC resistor safety, ceramic, anti-corrosion, sodium affinity (such as zinc, silver), lithium affinity (such as tin), ion acceleration and other safety primers, partially dispersing and reducing current density at the needle puncture point, guiding lateral growth in the crystal branch hole, and avoiding vertical piercing of the diaphragm
Sodium/lithium battery: no negative electrode/self generated
Optimizing porous carbon systems, VGCF,COFS, The stepped design of whisker carbon nanotube bottom coating has become a key foil material for the "no negative electrode/self generation technology" of sodium and lithium batteries, greatly improving energy density and assisting in the development of no negative electrode technology
Ionic multi-channel fast charging and discharging
Significantly improve initial efficiency, increase surface capacity, form a three-dimensional interconnected network of micropores, infiltrate and avoid local dry areas, accelerate ion migration (significantly increase electrolyte infiltration channels), and adapt to fast charging and discharging
Solid/dry foil material
Directly forming polar plates (such as drawing and spraying) greatly reduces the difficulty of PVDF/PTFE fibrosis film formation, with upper and lower connections inside and outside, high strength, low resistance, and no need for secondary transfer to the foil material
Buffer expansion conductive double skeleton
Provide strong expansion skeletons of silicon carbon, phosphorus carbon, and high silicon, explore new technology routes for direct silicon deposition and carbon coating, alleviate expansion cracking problems, and support thicker electrode designs (high load capacity) with excellent ion transport capabilities
The pores are fine and uniform, with an average pore size of 40/50um. The next generation product has an average pore size of 21um and has been mass-produced; Small variation in tensile strength; No need for secondary passivation, this technology has low internal resistance, no oxidation spots, and no chemical/thermal issues
Residual and passivating agent traces; Like the original foil material, it can be used in direct contact.
Conclusions
Foam microporous foil is not a simple process improvement, but a bottom layer innovation of the material system. It precisely hits the throat of the development of next-generation battery technology, providing an imaginative solution to the long-standing negative electrode problem in the industry.
Although the reliability, consistency, and long-term cyclic data of its large-scale application still need to be tested by the market, its emergence undoubtedly has dropped a "deep water bomb" for the battery and foil industries. It tells us that technological breakthroughs often come from rethinking the most fundamental principles of logic. As the current collector moves from two-dimensional to three-dimensional, the special adhesive and copper sintering technologies developed at the same time are also opening up a new and vast "starry sky" in the future of batteries.
