Method for Manufacturing Porous Electrode Current Collector Using Hydrogen Bubble Template and Electrode Current Collector Manufactured Thereby

Porous Copper Current Collector for Dendrite-Suppressed Lithium Metal Batteries Based on Hydrogen Bubble-Templated Electroplating

This technology involves electrodepositing a porous copper thin film using hydrogen bubbles generated by applying overpotential in a copper plating solution as a template, followed by alternating washing with a volatile organic solvent and distilled water to manufacture an electrode current collector for lithium metal batteries.

Although lithium metal batteries have a high theoretical capacity of 3,860 mAh/g, repeated charging and discharging cause lithium to grow in a dendritic form, creating "dead lithium" or damaging the separator. Additionally, porous copper thin films have historically faced limitations in initial charge-discharge efficiency due to residual plating solution and byproducts trapped within the pores.

This technology suppresses dendrite growth by inducing uniform lithium deposition on the high-surface-area porous copper thin film or within its pores. By repeatedly washing the film with alternating volatile solvents, such as ethanol, and distilled water, unreacted copper precursors and contaminants are removed, thereby increasing initial charge-discharge efficiency. This method can be applied to the production of anode current collectors for next-generation lithium metal secondary batteries, contributing to the safety and longevity of high-capacity batteries.

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Key Features:

• A step of forming a porous copper thin film by applying overpotential during electroplating in a copper plating solution
• A step of washing the porous copper thin film with a volatile organic solvent, followed by repeating the washing process with distilled water and a volatile organic solvent in sequence 9 to 19 times
• A method for manufacturing a porous electrode current collector using at least one copper precursor selected from CuSO4, CuCl2, CuI, Cu(NO3)2, and CuCN as a metal salt for electroplating
• A current collector for lithium metal batteries, plated using a copper plate or copper foil substrate as a working electrode under conditions of a current density of 1–10 A/cm2 and a charge capacity of 1 mC/cm2–100 C/cm2

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This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Education for the development of polyaniline support-based catalysts/polyaniline catalysts and their application to fuel cells.

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