J. Electrochem. Sci. Technol., Epub ahead of print - 1 - Studies on Multi-step Addition of NMP in (LiNi 0.80 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 ) (NCA) Cathode Slurry Preparation and its Rheological, Mechanical Strength and Electrochemical Properties for Li-ion Cells Vasudevarao Pasala*, Satyanarayana Maddukuri, V. Sethuraman, Rekha Lankipalli, Devi Gajula, and Venkateswarlu Manne Research and Development, Li-ion Battery Technology; New Energy Storage Technology, Amara Raja Batteries Limited, Tirupati-517520, India ABSTRACT For electrode stability and the electrochemical performance of the Li-ion cell, it is essential that the active ingredients and unique additives in the polymer binder be well dispersed with the solvent-based slurry. The efficient procedure used to cre- ate the slurry affects the rheological characteristics of the electrode slurry. When successively adding different steps of N- methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) solvent to the cathode composition, it is evenly disseminated. The electrochemical perfor- mance of the Li-ion cells and the electrodes made with slurry formed by single step and multiple steps of addition of NMP solvent are examined. To preform rheological properties of cathode electrode slurry on Ni-rich Lithium Nickel-Cobalt-Alu- minum Oxide (LiNi Co Al ) (NCA). Also, we investigate different step addition of electrode formation and mechan- ical strength characterization like peel strength. According to the EIS study, a multi-step electrode slurry has lower internal resistance than a single-step electrode slurry, which results in better electrical characteristics and efficiency. Further, micro- structure of electrodes is obtained electrochemical performance in the 18650 cylindrical cells with targeted capacity of 1.5 Ah. The slurry of electrodes prepared by single step and multiple steps of addition of NMP solvent and its effect on the fabrication of 1.5 Ah cells. A three-step solvent addition on slurry has been found to be a lower internal resistance than a single-step electrode slurry as confirmed by the EIS analysis, yielding improved electrical properties and efficiency. Keywords : Lithium-ion battery, NCA cathode, Rheology, Viscosity, Peel Strength Received : 16 February 2023, Accepted : 27 March 2023 1. Introduction Global production of Li-ion batteries has increased exponentially with increase of market share of the electric mobility, portable electronic devices, health care tool kits and energy storage solution. The global market of Li-ion batteries is estimated to be over $115 billion by 2030 [1]. The global climatic policies are encouraging to harness the renewable energy. Consequently, demand for storage of this energy for effective utilization of renewable energy is high. Globally, the large storage capability (of Li-ion) tech- nologies with high volumetric and high gravimetric energy densities are gaining momentum for eliminat- ing the range anxiety of e-vehicles (EV). Currently, lithium cobalt oxide (LCO), also known as mature cathode chemistry, is the most common consumer electronics battery technology. This chemi- cal, however, is not suited for EV applications because to its structural instability in terms of excess delithiation [2]. Also, other chemistries are abundant resources, stable crystal structures, and low price, such as lithium iron phosphate (LFP), lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC), lithium nickel cobalt aluminium oxide (NCA), and spinal lithium manganese oxide (LMO) have become dominant bat- tery materials for automotive applications compared to LCO. Among the wide range of Li-ion cathode chemistries, researchers are focusing on Ni-rich (≥80%) ternary layered metal oxides systems such as LiNi x Co y Mn z O 2 (NCM) and LiNi x Co y Al z O 2 (NCA). Research Article *E-mail address: vasupchem@gmail.com DOI: https://doi.org/10.33961/jecst.2023.00115 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.