METHOD OF FABRICATING A PRE-LITHIATED ELECTRODE AND LITHIUM-ION BATTERY CELL

1 . A method of fabricating a pre-lithiated electrode, comprising:

disposing a Li-PET sheet comprising a layer of lithium metal adjacent to a prefabricated electrode comprising a layer of anode material;

contacting a surface of the layer of anode material with a surface of the layer of lithium metal; and

calendering the layer of lithium metal and the prefabricated electrode together,

the calendering comprising transferring the layer of lithium metal and the prefabricated electrode through a pair of calendering rolls,

the calendering further comprising applying uniform pressure to a back surface of the Li-PET sheet, wherein the uniform pressure is a pressure ranging from about 0.7 kN to about 0.8 kN,

wherein a front roll and/or a back roll is heated to a temperature in the range of from about 40° C. to about 75° C., and

PET denotes polyethylene terephthalate or a derivative of polyethylene terephthalate.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

separating the PET sheet from the surface of the layer of anode material to form the pre-lithiated electrode.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the PET sheet further comprises a release layer.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising heating the front roll to a temperature in the range of from about 40° C. to about 75° C.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising heating the back roll to a temperature in the range of from about 40° C. to about 75° C.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the prefabricated electrode is a negative electrode comprising a Cu carrier foil.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the prefabricated electrode is a negative electrode comprising a carbonaceous material, silicon, silicon oxide or combinations thereof.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the prefabricated electrode is a negative electrode having a coating.

9 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the coating is a double-sided coating and/or has a thickness of about 10 μm to about 80 μm.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a gap between the calendering rolls is from about 160 μm to about 200 μm.

11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising incorporating the pre-lithiated electrode into an electrochemical cell further comprising a positive electrode, a separator, and an electrolyte.

12 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the PET layer has a thickness of about 20 μm to about 200 μm.

13 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the release layer has a thickness of about 0.005 μm to about 1 μm.

14 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the Cu carrier foil has a thickness of about 6 μm to about 12 μm.

15 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the carbonaceous material comprises natural graphite, artificial graphite, or combinations thereof.

16 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the coating comprises SiO y C z , wherein y is from 0 to 2 and z is 0 or 1.

17 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the gap between the calendering rolls is from about 170 μm to about 190 μm.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the gap between the calendering rolls is about 180 μm.

19 . A lithium-ion battery cell, comprising:

a pre-lithiated electrode formed according to the method according to claim 1 ;

a positive electrode comprising oxides of a transition metal; and

an electrolyte, wherein the electrolyte is selected from a solid electrolyte, a liquid electrolyte, or a polymer electrolyte.

20 . The lithium-ion battery cell of claim 19 , wherein each of the pre-lithiated electrode and the positive electrode are in a fully charged position, preferably wherein the pre-lithiated electrode is completely lithiated in the fully charged position and the positive electrode is completely delithiated in the fully charged position.