Rechargeable lithium anodes

Many studies have been undertaken with a view to improving lithium anode performance to obtain a practical cell. This section will describe recent progress in the study of lithium-metal anodes and the cells. Sections 3.2 to 3.7 describe studies on the surface of uncycled lithium and of lithium coupled with electrolytes, methods for measuring the cycling efficiency of lithium, the morphology of deposited lithium, the mechanism of lithium deposition and dissolution, the amount of dead lithium, the improvement of cycling efficiency, and alternatives to the lithium-metal anode. Section 3.8 describes the safety of rechargeable lithium-metal cells. 

Lithium deposited on an anode during a charge is chemically active and reacts with organic electrolytes after deposition. Then, the lithium is consumed during cycling. The cycling efficiency (percent) of a lithium anode (Eff) is basically defined by Eq. (1) [23], where Qp is the amount of electricity needed to plate lithium and <2S is the amount of electricity needed to strip all the plated lithium. As Eff is less than 100 percent, an excess of lithium is included in a practical rechargeable cell to compensate for the consumed lithium. 

With regard to rechargeable cells, a number of laboratory studies have assessed the applicability of the rocking-chair concept to PAN-EC/PC electrolytes with various anode/cathode electrode couples [121-123], Performance studies on cells of the type Li°l PAN-EC/PC-based electrolyte lLiMn20 and carbon I PAN-EC/PC-based electrolyte ILiNi02 show some capacity decline with cycling [121]. For cells with a lithium anode, the capacity decay can be attributed mainly to passivation and loss of lithium by its reaction with... 

Barsukov I.V. Development of low-cost, novel carbonaceous materials for anodes in lithium-ion rechargeable batteries - Superior Graphite Co. Snapshots of CARAT (Cooperative Automotive Research for Advanced Technology) Projects. Publication of OAAT OTTEE RE, U.S. Department of Energy, 9/2001, 26-27. 

Many industrial and academic laboratories have investigated doped polymers as improved positive electrodes in rechargeable lithium batteries. A common example is the battery formed by a lithium anode, a liquid organic electrolyte (e.g. LiC104-PC solution) and a polypyrrole film... 

Yoshito I. Carbon anode material for lithium-ion rechargeable battery. Tanso 2006 225 382-390. 

Yamaki, J., and Tobishima, S., Rechargeable lithium anodes, in Handbook of Battery Materials, J.O. Besenhard, Ed., Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany, 1999, p. 339-357. 

---