Exploratory study of the electrochemical properties of local cassava starch as a potential green and sustainable polymer binder for energy storage application

The need to develop an aqueous-based binder has dominated research publications for some time now. The application of this man-made aqueous-based binder in LIBs has the potential to reduce the environmental impact of LIB. In this preliminary study, local cassava starch is treated and prepared as a polymer binder for LIBs application. The binder is applied in lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides electrodes as a cathode in LIBs. The electrodes displayed a discharge capacity of 142 mAh/g and 73 mAh/g for LiNMCO-442/Cassava starch and 139 and 28 mAh/g for LiNMCO-442/PVDF at 0.1 C-rate and 10 C-rate respectively. After 100 cycles, the LiNMCO-442 cells retained about 80.2 and 65.5% for the cells with cassava starch binder and PVDF binder, respectively, at room temperature. The fairly electrochemical performance of the local cassava starch makes it a potential alternative to the petroleum-based binder, PVDF. Graphical abstract