The hardness of powder materials used to fabricate battery electrodes is an important parameter in determining battery lifetime. Particulate electrode materials are subject to significant stresses during cell fabrication. While in use, battery cyclic charging and discharging induces mechanical stresses in the electrode materials, which can significantly impact long-term stability. Recently, researchers have shown correlation between particle hardness and cycle performance of layered lithium-ion battery cathode materials1.
This article describes a novel micro-compression instrument and technique for determining the hardness of individual particles using controlled uniaxial compression. Brief examples of the technique used to characterize and compare the hardness of battery anode materials are provided. Several more in-depth examples are provided in the listed references.