  The rising demand for high-performing batteries requires new technological
concepts. To facilitate fast charge and discharge, hierarchically structured
electrodes offer short diffusion paths in the active material. However, there
are still gaps in understanding the influences on the cell performance of such
electrodes. Here, we employed a cell model to demonstrate that the morphology
of the hierarchically structured electrode determines which electrochemical
processes dictate the cell performance. The potentially limiting processes
include electronic conductivity within the porous secondary particles, solid
diffusion within the primary particles, and ionic transport in the electrolyte
surrounding the secondary particles. Our insights enable a goal-oriented
tailoring of hierarchically structured electrodes for high-power applications.
