Ashland Specialty Ingredients, a commercial unit of Ashland, Inc. has launched Bondwell BVH9 carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC) binder for the anode, and its PVP K-series polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) polymers as binders for ceramic-coated separators.
“Ashland produces Bondwell BVH9 CMC binder in our Jiangmen, China facility and provides lithium ion cell producers in the Asia Pacific region with a cost-effective binder that features optimized physical and electrochemical properties,” said Kenji Hanada, Tokyo-based senior marketing specialist, Industrial Specialties, Ashland Specialty Ingredients.
Bondwell BVH9 CMC binder is an aqueous binder for natural graphite anodes. Coin cells prepared with Bondwell BVH9 CMC binder have demonstrated significantly low impedance, as well as excellent capacity retention across a range of charge-discharge rates.
Bondwell BVH9 CMC binder is compatible with many commercial styrene butadiene (SB) latexes and has good dispersion power for both natural graphite and conductive carbon black particles. It also adheres well to copper collectors.
Ceramic-coated separators are increasingly used to improve lithium ion battery safety by reducing separator shrinkage at high temperatures and by increasing mechanical strength and compression resistance. Ceramic-coated separators may also improve battery performance.
“The Ashland PVP K-Series of binders feature a combination of physical and electrochemical properties that impart better coating performance than commonly used polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), or polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) binders,” said Hanada. “They have better solubility characteristics, superior dispersion performance, excellent cohesive properties, and good electrochemical stability.” As a result, the Ashland PVP K-Series performance polymers are the binders of choice for ceramic-coated separators.
