Extracting Thermodynamic, Kinetic, and Transport Properties from Batteries Using a Simple Analytical Pulsing Protocol

Gaining insights into the fundamental properties of lithium-ion batteries through an electrochemical testing protocol is challenging for commercial cell formats. In this work, a simple Analytical Pulsing Protocol (APP) is performed on a commercial cell to understand its thermodynamic, kinetic, and mass transport properties. For thermodynamics, a static-differential capacity analysis is performed that removes the effects of kinetic and transport overpotentials and allows for the calculation of Gibbs free energy. For kinetics, the exchange current density of the cell is calculated according to the Butler-Volmer model. For transport, a whole-cell lithium-ion diffusion coefficient is calculated from a derivation of Fick’s second law and the generalized flux equation. Mechanistic insight into battery performance was uncovered by comparing the results from these three properties. This APP is a Scalable And Non-Destructive (SAND) technique that requires no additional equipment. Therefore, this is useful for R&D, manufacturing, quality assurance, and second-life applications.