Theme: Carbon nanofiber-polylactic acid Li4Ti5O12 composite for the fabrication of 3D printed lithium ion battery
| Muhammad Saqlain Iqbal is a doctoral researcher at the Polytechnic University of Bari, Italy, and currently a visiting researcher at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain. His work focuses on additive manufacturing, 3D-printed electronics, and lithium-ion batteries, with particular expertise in the chemical synthesis of novel 2D materials and polymer nanocomposites for energy storage. He has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications in advanced materials, nanochemistry, and sustainable technologies. Beyond research, he actively contributes to international conferences and innovation networks, including served as an Ambassador for the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. |
Abstract
| Additive manufacturing offers unprecedented design freedom for electrochemical devices, yet its application to lithium ion batteries remains nascent. Herein, we report the development and electrochemical evaluation of 3D printed composite electrodes composed of polylactic acid (PLA), lithium titanate (LTO), carbon nanofibers (CNF), and a plasticizer. A feedstock formulation containing 52 wt.% LTO was first optimized via rheological measurements: blends of PLA, plasticizer, and LTO were tuned to achieve an extrusion grade viscosity (10³–10⁴ Pa/s at 180 °C), enabling continuous composite fabrication on a custom material extrusion printer. Conductivity measurements at room temperature were performed on composite discs with 1-10 wt.% CNF. The results reveal a percolation threshold at 8 wt.% CNF, delivering an electronic conductivity of ~10⁻¹ S cm⁻¹ without compromising print resolution. Disk shaped electrodes (15-18 mm diameter, 0.5 mm thickness) were printed directly from filament and assembled into half cells versus lithium metal in standard coin cell hardware. Galvanostatic cycling at C/25 yielded an initial discharge capacity of 138 mAh g⁻¹, with >99% coulombic efficiency after many formation cycles. Capacity retention remained above 85% when cycling at C/10 over 50 cycles, and rate capability tests demonstrated stable performance up to C/2. These metrics underscore the promise of 3D printed CNF/LTO/PLA electrodes for low power or stationary energy storage applications. |