Technology of the Li-Ion Batteries

An emerging application for large quantities of Li-ion cells is the electrification of power trains, where Li-ion cells seem to be a proper technology which covers a broad spectrum of e-mobility applications like hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles. For these applications a precise state determination of the Li-ion battery and its cells is mandatory to ensure a reliable operation of the vehicle. 

Despite being an overall mature technology, battery design and performance have changed drastically over the past decade with the development and implementation of nanomaterials [8, 11-13]. The nanoscale size reduction leads to enhancements of the Li-ion battery intercalation capability by increasing the specific surface area for... 

The introduction of the li-thionyl chloride primary battery represented a major advance in battery technology. The voltage of a single cell was more than twice that of the Ledanche cell and other primary batteries, energy density was increase by an even higher factor and shelf life was improved by a factor of 5 at least. It became immediately obvious that the next breakthrough would be achieved with the introduction of a rechargeable li battery. This happened about two decades later, with the introduction of the li-ion battery. 

From the Li-ion battery technology, it is known that carbons can be intercalated at more negative potentials than any other Li-intercalation material (see Figure 8.30). In commercial Li-ion batteries, two kinds of carbon materials are mainly used as negative electrode (1) nongraphitizable or hard carbons (HCs) and (2) graphite. 

Figure 29 Schematic drawing showing the shape and components of various Li-ion battery configurations (a) cylindrical, (b) coin, (c) prismatic, and (d) thin and flat. Note the unique flexibility of the thin and flat plastic LilON configuration in contrast to the other configurations, the PLilON technology does not contain free electrolyte. (Ref. 47. Reproduced by permission of Nature Publishing Group (www.nature.com))...

One of the obstacles to overcome is the largest volume occupied by DMFC (even when the volumetric energy density of methanol is higher than the Li-Ion batteries), due to the low efficiency with the current DMFC technology. 

In this chapter, details of the massive artificial graphite (MAG) with excellent anode performance in the Li-Ion battery will be described. MAG is developed for the mass production of a unique graphite for the purpose of battery application, based on various knowledge about conventional production technology of artificial graphite. This material shares about 70% of the anode material market for Li-Ion batteries produced in Japan. 

Ceramic materials also play an important role in the field of battery technology. The Li-ion battery is a typical case in which ceramic materials are applied. In Li-ion batteries, lithium oxides are used for a positive active material, and carbons for a negative active material. Both of the active materials are considered to be ceramics prepared by normal ceramic production processes. They are used in powder form in Li-ion batteries. 

---