Why in news?

• John B Goodenough, whose contribution to lithium-ion battery technology in 1980 helped him win the 2019 Nobel Prize in chemistry, died on June 25 at the age of 100.
  • He became the oldest person to receive the Nobel Prize.
  • He had shared his Nobel with two other researchers:
    • Michael Stanley Whittingham, a British-American chemist, and
    • Akira Yoshino, a Japanese chemist - Yoshino invented the first commercially viable lithium-ion battery, which began to be sold in 1991.
• His work transformed the tech world, sparking the wireless revolution that made portable electronics ubiquitous.

What’s in today’s article?

• Lithium-ion battery

Lithium-ion battery

• About
  • A lithium-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses lithium ions as the primary component in its electrochemical system.
  • It is widely used in portable electronic devices, electric vehicles, and various energy storage applications.
  • 
• Basic structure of a lithium-ion battery
  • A battery is made up of an anode (a negative electrode), cathode (a positive electrode), separator, electrolyte, and two current collectors (positive and negative).
  • The electrodes are typically made of materials that can intercalate lithium ions during charging and discharging cycles.
  • Common cathode materials include lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2), lithium manganese oxide (LiMn2O4), and lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4).
  • Graphite is commonly used as the anode material.
• Functioning
  • During a discharge cycle, lithium atoms in the anode are ionized and separated from their electrons.
  • The lithium ions move from the anode and pass through the electrolyte until they reach the cathode, where they recombine with their electrons and electrically neutralize.
  • The lithium ions are small enough to be able to move through a micro-permeable separator between the anode and cathode.
  • Because of lithium’s small size (third only to hydrogen and helium), Li-ion batteries are capable of having a very high voltage and charge storage per unit mass and unit volume.
• Application
  • Li-ion batteries are the market leader in portable electronic devices (such as smart-phones and laptops).
  • Li-ion batteries are also used to power electrical systems for some aerospace applications, notable in the new and more environmentally friendly Boeing 787, where weight is a significant cost factor.
  • From a clean energy perspective, much of the promise of Li-ion technology comes from their potential applications in battery-powered cars.
• Advantages of Li-ion batteries
  • They have one of the highest energy densities of any battery technology today.
    • This means they can store a significant amount of energy for their size and weight.
  • They also exhibit a relatively low self-discharge rate when compared to other rechargeable batteries, allowing them to hold their charge for extended periods.
  • In addition, Li-ion battery cells can deliver up to 3.6 Volts, 3 times higher than other technologies.
    • This means that they can deliver large amounts of current for high-power applications.
  • Li-ion batteries have no memory effect, a detrimental process where repeated partial discharge/charge cycles can cause a battery to ‘remember’ a lower capacity.
  • These batteries do not contain toxic cadmium, which makes them easier to dispose of than Ni-Cd batteries.
• Disadvantages
  • Li-ion batteries have a tendency to overheat, and can be damaged at high voltages.
  • In some cases, this can lead to thermal runaway and combustion.
    • This has caused significant problems, notably the grounding of the Boeing 787 fleet after onboard battery fires were reported.
  • Li-ion batteries require safety mechanisms to limit voltage and internal pressures, which can increase weight and limit performance in some cases.
  • Li-ion batteries are also subject to aging, meaning that they can lose capacity and frequently fail after a number of years.
  • Another factor limiting their widespread adoption is their cost, which is around 40% higher than Ni-Cd.