A tab is a component of a pouch lithium-ion battery. A battery has a positive and a negative electrode, and the tab is the metal conductor that leads the positive and negative electrodes out of the cell. Simply put, the tabs on the positive and negative electrodes are the contact points during charging and discharging. The positive electrode uses aluminum (Al), and the negative electrode uses nickel (Ni). There are also negative electrodes made of copper-plated nickel (Ni-Cu). All of these are composed of a film and a metal strip.
I. Classification by the material of the tab metal strip:
1. Aluminum (Al) tabs: Generally used as positive tabs, but also as negative tabs if the battery is a lithium titanate negative electrode.
2. Nickel (Ni) tabs: Used as negative electrode tabs, mainly in small digital batteries, such as mobile phone batteries, power bank batteries, tablet batteries, and smart transmission device batteries.
3. Copper-plated nickel (Ni-Cu) tabs: used as negative electrode tabs, mainly applied in power batteries and high-rate batteries.
II. Classification by tab adhesive (domestic market):
1. Black rubber tabs: Generally used in low- to mid-range digital small batteries.
2. Yellow rubber tabs: Generally used in low- to mid-range power batteries and high-rate batteries.
3. White adhesive tabs: These are generally used in high-end digital batteries, power batteries, and high-rate batteries.
III. Packaging Classification of Finished Electrodes:
1. Disc-type electrode tabs (the entire metal strip is wound into a disc after being fitted with a film by a machine), used in automated production lines.
2. Plate-type tabs (metal strips with added film are cut into individual pieces, then arranged in rows with two thin transparent plastic sheets sandwiched in the middle), used in ordinary production lines.
