Review—Advances in Anode and Electrolyte Materials for the Progress of Lithium-Ion and beyond Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

This review attempts to critically discuss the progresses obtained in renewing the chemistry of lithium-ion and beyond lithium-ion batteries. The attention is focused on anode materials, including tin and silicon, graphene and conversion anodes, as well as on electrolytes, comprising polymers, solids, gels and ionic liquids. The paper shows that, although considerable progresses have been achieved in the latest few years, the development of the ideal lithium battery, having high energy density combined with low cost and total safety control, is still to be obtained.The continuous increase of green-house gas level in the atmosphere, due to pollution derived from burning fossil fuels, has determined the necessity of exploring renewable and environmentally compatible alternative energy sources, such as photovoltaic, wind and geothermal. Storing energy and delivering it is of paramount importance to sustain the development of the green sources. Electrochemical batteries are ideal systems to meet this demand and, among them, Liion batteries (LIBs), due to their high energy density and long cycling life, 1,2 appear to be the best choice. In addition to storage applications, LIBs are receiving an increasing attention also as power sources for low-emission hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and emission-free electric vehicles (BEVs). 3 However, although commercially established products, LIBs are not yet adequate for meeting the requests of the energy storage and of the electric vehicle markets. Considerable improvement in safety, cost and energy density is needed to reach the goal, which can only be met by renewing the LIB chemistry involving all the three components, namely, anode, cathode and electrolyte. In this paper, we attempt to critically review the progresses obtained along this line. Considering the several excellent reviews describing the new developments at the cathode side, 4 we have mainly focused the attention on the anode and electrolyte materials, since their full understanding and proper development are presently the tasks of many academic and industrial laboratories. AnodesTin and silicon.-One of the most promising approaches to develop improved anodes for next generation LIBs considers the use of materials offering values of specific capacity higher than that of conventional graphite. Among these, lithium-metal alloys, such lithiumtin or lithium-silicon, 1 have attracted considerable interest due to the potential high capacity that may theoretically reach values orders of magnitude higher than that of graphite. One of the major issues of these lithium-metal alloys, which has in fact so far hindered their commercialization, is the large volume strain occurring upon charge and discharge. 1,2 A common strategy for addressing this issue exploits suitable nanostructures, such as nanowires, nanotubes, hollow particles, and, particularly, carbon-based, Sn-C 5 and Si-C nanocomposites. 6,7 Indeed, nanostructures can provide a specific buffering action that may ensure the containment of the volume stresses and, a...

Ion Transport in Solvent-Free, Crosslinked, Single-Ion Conducting Polymer Electrolytes for Post-Lithium Ion Batteries

“…These electrolytes exhibit high Li-ion conductivity and support an adequate solid-electrolyte-interface (SEI) formation, but they present many practical disadvantages, such as being volatile and flammable [1,5,7,8]. One class of electrolytes that are seen as a possible alternative are polymer electrolytes (PE).…”

A New CuO‐Fe2O3‐Mesocarbon Microbeads Conversion Anode in a High‐Performance Lithium‐Ion Battery with a Li1.35Ni0.48Fe0.1Mn1.72O4 Spinel Cathode

“…[1] In this respect, great efforts have been devoted to the optimization of high-capacity anodes [2][3][4][5][6] and high-voltage cathodes, [7][8][9][10] with the aim of remarkably increasing the energy content of the battery.T he energy density of current lithium-ion batteries is considered insufficient to satisfy the challenging requirements of emerging market technologies, such as electric vehicles. [12][13][14][15] Transition-metal oxides( M x O y )m ay react with lithium through conversion to form Li 2 Oa nd metallic M( oxidation state = 0). [12][13][14][15] Transition-metal oxides( M x O y )m ay react with lithium through conversion to form Li 2 Oa nd metallic M( oxidation state = 0).…”

Rational Design of a Composite Electrode to Realize a High‐Performance All‐Solid‐State Battery

“…In the last decade, the energy density of commercial lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) has increased rapidly, driving the evolution of electric vehicles (EVs) and large‐scale energy storage systems (ESSs). Simultaneously, concerns regarding the safety of LIBs have increasingly been raised due to overheating, fires, and explosions . To resolve these safety issues, much attention has been given to the development of all‐solid‐state batteries (ASBs) as the next‐generation power sources, which are composed of solid instead of liquid electrolytes,.…”

“…In the last decade, the energy density of commercial lithiumion batteries (LIBs) has increased rapidly,d riving the evolution of electric vehicles( EVs) and large-scale energy storage systems (ESSs).S imultaneously,c oncerns regarding the safety of LIBs have increasingly been raised due to overheating, fires, and explosions. [1][2][3][4][5][6] To resolve these safety issues, much attention has been given to the development of all-solid-state batteries (ASBs) as the next-generation powers ources, which are composed of solid instead of liquid electrolytes, [7][8][9][10][11][12] .I na ddition to addressing safety concerns, solid electrolytes offer excellent opportunities to further improve the energy and power densities of current LIBs. [13][14][15][16] However,t he development of ASBs has been hindered by the insufficient ionicc onductivity of availables olid electrolytes, which do not meet the standard for successful implementation.R ecently,K anno et al reported Li 10 GeP 2 S 12 (LGPS), as uperionic solide lectrolyte with an ionic conductivity of 12 mS cm À1 ,w hich is comparable to the conductivity of commercial liquid electrolytes.…”