Fast laser-assisted electrode drying: Probing penetration effects with a laser-electrode interaction model

Abstract

Laser-assisted electrode drying offers substantial advantages over traditional convection drying to meet the growing demand for cost-effective battery manufacturing, including significant energy savings and reduced facility space. Unlike traditional electrode drying methods, laser heating involves volumetric interactions due to its electromagnetic wave nature, which is often ignored and simplified as surface heating. Meanwhile, experimental monitoring is challenging due to the transient nature of laser drying, a laser-electrode interaction model was thus developed to explore laser penetration effects during electrode drying by simulating the interaction between laser irradiation and electrode consisting of particles and solvent. The study reveals that volumetric heating is primarily achieved by the direct interaction and heating of all AM particles by the penetrated laser and indirectly solvent heating by AM particles in seconds. Notably, peak power density and temperature occur approximately 10 μm beneath the electrode surface, independent of electrode thickness or laser power. Moreover, reducing electrode thickness and increasing laser power are likely to enhance penetration depth and amplify volumetric heating effects. These findings provide a valuable starting point and inspiration for further research into optimizing laser-assisted drying processes.