The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

As the demand for lithium-ion batteries increases, environmentally friendly electrode manufacturing processes have gained attention. Conventional wet processes rely on organic solvents, leading to environmental concerns and process complexity. Solvent-free dry electrode processing has emerged as an alternative; however, the commonly used fluorinated binder, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), poses degradability and safety issues. In this study, polyisoprene (PI), a non-fluorinated polymer, is proposed as a binder for dry-processed electrodes. High-molecular-weight PI was synthesized via anionic polymerization and vulcanized to improve mechanical stability. Dry electrodes using PI and vulcanized PI were fabricated and evaluated. Vulcanized PI showed enhanced viscosity and tensile strength, improved initial coulombic efficiency, and reduced charge-transfer resistance. These results indicate that vulcanized polyisoprene is a promising non-fluorinated binder for dry electrode fabrication.