PLASMA BATTERY ELECTRODE COATING ON CURRENT COLLECTOR PRETREATED WITH CONDUCIVE MATERIAL

Particles of active electrode material for a lithium-ion cell are suspended in an atmospheric plasma-activated gas stream and deposited on a surface of a metal current collector foil having a surface film of an oxide of the metal. The metal oxide film-containing surface of the current collector is pre-coated with a thin layer of an electrically conductive organic polymer composition that serves as a bonding surface for the plasma-applied particles of electrode material. For example, a non-conductive polymer (such as polyvinylidene difluoride) may be filled with carbon particles or copper particles. The polymer layer is typically only a few micrometers in thickness and composed to be compatible with the plasma-applied electrode material particles and to conduct electrons between the oxide film-coated, metal current collector and the deposited electrode layer.