Nanostructuring versus microstructuring in battery electrodes

Battery electrodes comprise a mixture of active material particles, conductive carbon and binder additives deposited onto a current collector. Although this basic design has persisted for decades, the desired size scale of the active material particle is a matter of debate. Advances in nanotechnology have spurred interest in deploying nanoparticles as the active material. In this Perspective, we compare the features of nanoparticle and microparticle electrodes, and discuss why the battery industry is unlikely to replace microstructures with nanometre-sized analogues. We then address the question of whether there is a place for nanomaterials in battery design. We suggest that the way forward lies in microscale particles with built-in nanoscale features, such as microparticles assembled from nanoscale building blocks or patterned with engineered or natural nanopores. These multiscale particles offer exciting possibilities to develop battery electrodes that are quintessentially both micro and nano with respect to their performance attributes.