† Corresponding authors equality contributed to this work.
ABSTRACT : Various steps in the electrode production process, such as slurry mixing, slurry coating, drying, and calendaring, directly affect the quality and, consequently, mechanical properties and electrochemical performance of electrodes. Herein, a new method of slurry coating is developed: Double-coated electrode. Contrary to single-coated electrode, the cathode is prepared by double coating, wherein each coat is of half the total loading mass of the single-coated electrode. Each coat is dried and calendared. It is found that the double-coated electrode possesses more uniform pore distribution and higher electrode density and allows lesser extent of particle segregation than the singlecoated electrode. Consequently, the double-coated electrode exhibits higher adhesion strength (74.7 N m-1) than the single-coated electrode (57.8 N m-1). Moreover, the double-coated electrode exhibits lower electric resistance (0.152 Ω cm-2) than the single-coated electrode (0.177 Ω cm-2). Compared to the single-coated electrode, the double-coated electrode displays higher electrochemical performance by exhibiting better rate capability, especially at higher C rates, and higher long-term cycling performance. Despite its simplicity, the proposed method allows effective electrode preparation by facilitating high electrochemical performance and is applicable for the large-scale production of high-energy-density electrodes.