Lithium-ion battery: present and future

Lithium ion battery (LIB) is a rechargeable battery

Consist of anode, cathode, electrolyte and a separator

Available for purchase from 1991

Sony rechargeable battery past and present

Charging and discharging of Li-ion battery

Application of lithium-ion batteries

 Present day’s LIB: 18650, 26700 and 26650 size

 Application:  Electric vehicle, smartphone, laptop, toys, e-cigarettes and vaporizers, medical devices, portable electric tools, garden tools, e-bikes and many others

The recent trend in Li-ion battery anode

Silicon nanowires combined with graphite anode batteries for smartphone which provides 5000 mAh capacity

The recent trend in Li-ion battery cathode

As a cathode the original LiCoO₂ (LCO) is still dominating the market

Each year 45 kilotons of material are required for LCO cathode

Tesla uses inexpensive material LiNi_0.80Co_0.15Al_0.05 (NCA) as cathode material in their S and X series automobiles batteries

Chevrolet and Sony uses LiFePO (LFP) as a cathode.

LFP  batteries are cheap, safe and durable

Sony claimed that their Fortelion batteries retain 74% of their rated capacity after 8000 charge-discharge cycles

Research aiming the development of Li-ion battery

Research Focus: enhancement of battery lifetime, energy density, safety, and charging rate of lithium ion batteries.

Pioneer Scientists: John Goodenough, Yoshio Nishi, Rachid Yazami, Akira Yoshino

According to the Web of Science, at least 119,188 research materials have been published on batteries from 2010 to 2017

In 2014, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) developed mesoporous silicon sponge (MSS) anode for lithium ion battery

 Store twice the amount of energy than the conventional lithium ion battery

One silicon atom can bind to four lithium ions but physically expands 400% of its original size

Mesoporous silicon sponge electrode expands by 30%

 suitable for commercial use

Capacity: 750 mAh/g 80% capacity retention over 1000 cycles

The cathodes of Lithium-ion batteries are usually made of metal oxides containing lithium. 

In 2015 researchers made a glass cathode blending 80 wt% V₂O₅ and 20 wt% LiBO₂ at 900 °C. 

Capacity: 300 mAh/g over 100 charge/discharge cycles

In 2016, researchers announced a reversible shutdown system using a thermoresponsive polymer switching material to prevent thermal runaway.

The thermoresponsive polymer switching material consists of electrochemically stable, graphene-coated, spiky nickel nanoparticles in a polymer matrix with a high thermal expansion coefficient.

Reference: Chen, Z; Hsu, P.C; Lopez, J; Li, Y; To, J.W. F.; Liu, N.; Wang, C.; Andrews, S.C.; Liu, J. Nat. Energy. 2016, 1, 1-8.  

In 2017, researchers at the University of Maryland and the Army Research Laboratory improved the aqueous lithium ion battery technology  using inhomogeneous additive

They used highly fluorinated ether (HFE) called 1,1,2,2-Tetrafluoroethyl-2′,2′,2′-trifluoroethyl ether to coat the graphite electrode

 This electrochemically stable and highly efficient battery can reach the 4.0 V threshold.

Reference: Yang C.; Chen J.; Qing T.; Fan X.; Sun W.; Cresce A.; Ding M.S.;  Borodin O.;  Vatamanu J.;  Schroeder M.A.;  Eidson N, Wang C.; Xu K. Joule, 2017, 1, 122-132

In 2018, researchers from Japan demonstrated salt concentrated trimethyl phosphate electrolyte batteries that is capable of 1,000 charging–discharging cycles over one year.

suitable for both hard-carbon and graphite anodes

Safe and long-lasting batteries

Graphical representation of Li-ion battery explosion and possible remedy

Future development idea of Li-ion battery

Top position in the arena of rechargeable batteries

Discovery of new materials with higher holding capacity of lithium ions

Environmental sustainability and possible reuse or recycle of the materials