Talk About Lithium-ion Batteries Fundamentals and Applications

Lithium ion has become quite popular in the last few years. You can find them anywhere and use them in any device. They are so commonly known because it is rechargeable. Li ion batteries have high energy density. They are lightweight and thus a favourable choice for companies making appliances cordless.

Because of their higher efficiency and capacity, we use them in electronic devices, electric vehicles, and smaller appliances.

The most important part of lithium ion batteries fundamentals and applications

There are four components that make up the Li ion battery. These are anode, cathode, electrolyte and the separator. These are all important and even if one of them is missing, the battery won’t be able to function.

Anode

Active materials cover the element that makes up the anode. Cathode if made using the element called the active material. The active material used with anode helps the electric current to flow.

All the lithium ions are present in the anode at the beginning of the reaction when the battery charging. When the wires connect the anode with the cathode, the ions start flowing to the cathode. This reaction is further aided by the electrolyte present.

Graphite is usually used as an anode. This is because of its stable structure and also since conducts electricity. Moreover, it does not react itself and significantly cheaper than its alternatives.

Cathode

One can determine the voltage and the capacity of the Li ion through the cathode. Chemical reactions of lithium can generate electricity for the battery. When we insert the lithium metal in the battery, it becomes a cathode. But, lithium is a very unstable element. Thus we have to combine it with oxygen, producing lithium oxide that is then used as the cathode.

The cathode is an essential component of the battery. It can determine the voltage, characteristic and capacity of the battery. This is because they depend on the type of element that makes up the cathode. The more the use of lithium, the more the capacity and voltage is.

Electrolyte

When charging the battery, the reaction begins making the li ions flow from anode to cathode with the help of an electrolyte present in the battery. This electrolyte is an important component to keep the reaction going. In other words, the battery would have only been used only once, if the electrolytes weren’t present.

When picking up an electrolyte to use, one must be careful to only go for electrolytes that can help the ions flow easily. This means that the electrolyte should have high ionic conductivity. The electrolytes are made up of additives, salts and solvents. The salts are the main part that makes the movement of lithium ions easer. These salts are dissolved into organic liquids that are the solvents and for specific purposes, additives are usually present in trace amount.

Separator

Separator, as the name suggests, is the barrier between cathode and anode. It makes sure that no unnecessary electron passes through from anode to cathode and that only the needed li ions get through. The separators that are being used nowadays are polypropylene, polyethene and synthetic resins.

How can you do to improve lithium ion batteries fundamentals and applications?

Since the first time that we got the lithium ion battery in the 1970s, the batteries have come a long way. Their performance, capacity and life have increased in the last few decades. Moreover, the uses of the battery had also increased. Now you can use it in most of the electronic devices and small appliance.

Even after much improvement we have seen in the batteries, it is still a long way from being perfect. In the recent news, the events of batteries combusting to flames have come to light. Even if the incidents are 3-4 in a million, looking into the issue is essential. These batteries have been susceptible to combustion, over-discharge, overcharge and short circuit. This is why it is very much a possibility that the users might want to switch to safer alternatives. These performance barriers have become crucial to ignore. The manufacturers need to improve it.

Another one of the factors needing improvement is the cost of the battery. It is widely available but this does not mean that people would buy it. Cost plays a very important role in the purchasing decision of the customer. While it surely is readily available, there are other options. These options include but not limited to, fossil fuel and solar energy that is cheaper and as easy to get a hold of. Main costs associated with the battery are the cost of its raw material, their processing, manufacturing and packaging. Since these are significant costs, they can look into it and decrease.

While we can't ask the batteries to last a lifetime, we certainly want to use it for more than a few months. The manufacturers of lithium ion batteries assure us that their lifetime is 15 years. It does work for long but definitely not this long. For someone, who is looking into improving lithium ion batteries, it becomes essential to look into the life of the battery.

How to make your lithium ion batteries to be different

Li ion batteries have a lot of potentials. It is one of the most popular batteries but it can become even more. It has a lot of promise to be better in the future, it has some shortcomings. And this is where you can make your batteries different.

With the rise in the popularity of electric cars, Li batteries are playing a crucial role there. But what Li batteries need here more is the capacity and the cost. The batteries should be long lasting and a lot cheaper than the ones that are being used nowadays. This would need extensive research and development.

The lithium batteries are the future with its potential. For the batteries to achieve their potential, we would need more research on this matter.