Acute deformation characteristics of standard and flexible lithium-ion battery electrodes

Understanding the strain tolerance of both standard and mechanically flexible battery electrodes is prerequisite for optimizing performance, safety, and longevity, particularly in heavy-duty applications, flexible electronics and wearables. Achieving this requires a deeper understanding of how mechanical strain drives electrode degradation. In this work, we directly compare the strain response of electrospun (flexible) and slurry-cast (conventional) electrodes. To simulate acute mechanical stress, electrodes underwent a controlled 180° folding, pressing, and unfolding protocol designed to induce measurable damage, we then employed a combination of characterization techniques, including synchrotron X-ray nano-computed tomography, X-ray diffraction mapping, electrochemical analysis, and in situ Tensiometer-scanning electron microscopy to assess both structural and electrochemical degradation modes and provide a standardised upper-bound for strain induced damage. Our results reveal that electrospun electrodes exhibit significantly greater resilience to deformation, attributed to their freestanding architecture and fibrous morphology. These findings underscore the importance of characterizing deformation mechanisms to guide the design of high-performance batteries. Understanding the strain response of battery electrodes is vital in both standard and flexible devices. Here, the strain response of flexible electrospun, and conventional slurry-cast, electrodes are compared during folding, via x-ray tomography and diffraction, and in-situ microscopy.