Researchers must find a sustainable way of providing the power our modern lifestyles demand.

Building better batteries

The increasing interest in energy storage for the grid can be attributed to multiple factors, including the capital costs of managing peak demands, the investments needed for grid reliability, and the integration of renewable energy sources. Although existing energy storage is dominated by pumped hydroelectric, there is the recognition that battery systems can offer a number of high-value opportunities, provided that lower costs can be obtained. The battery systems reviewed here include sodium-sulfur batteries that are commercially available for grid applications, redox-flow batteries that offer low cost, and lithium-ion batteries whose development for commercial electronics and electric vehicles is being applied to grid storage.

Electrical Energy Storage for the Grid: A Battery of Choices

Li-ion batteries have transformed portable electronics and will play a key role in the electrification of transport. However, the highest energy storage possible for Li-ion batteries is insufficient for the long-term needs of society, for example, extended-range electric vehicles. To go beyond the horizon of Li-ion batteries is a formidable challenge; there are few options. Here we consider two: Li-air (O(2)) and Li-S. The energy that can be stored in Li-air (based on aqueous or non-aqueous electrolytes) and Li-S cells is compared with Li-ion; the operation of the cells is discussed, as are the significant hurdles that will have to be overcome if such batteries are to succeed. Fundamental scientific advances in understanding the reactions occurring in the cells as well as new materials are key to overcoming these obstacles. The potential benefits of Li-air and Li-S justify the continued research effort that will be needed.

Li-O2 and Li-S batteries with high energy storage.

Each cell of a battery stores electrical energy as chemical energy in two electrodes, a reductant (anode) and an oxidant (cathode), separated by an electrolyte that transfers the ionic component of the chemical reaction inside the cell and forces the electronic component outside the battery. The output on discharge is an external electronic current I at a voltage V for a time Δt. The chemical reaction of a rechargeable battery must be reversible on the application of a charging I and V. Critical parameters of a rechargeable battery are safety, density of energy that can be stored at a specific power input and retrieved at a specific power output, cycle and shelf life, storage efficiency, and cost of fabrication. Conventional ambient-temperature rechargeable batteries have solid electrodes and a liquid electrolyte. The positive electrode (cathode) consists of a host framework into which the mobile (working) cation is inserted reversibly over a finite solid–solution range. The solid–solution range, which is...

The Li-ion rechargeable battery: a perspective.

2.1. Solvents 4307 2.1.1. Propylene Carbonate (PC) 4308 2.1.2. Ethers 4308 2.1.3. Ethylene Carbonate (EC) 4309 2.1.4. Linear Dialkyl Carbonates 4310 2.2. Lithium Salts 4310 2.2.1. Lithium Perchlorate (LiClO4) 4311 2.2.2. Lithium Hexafluoroarsenate (LiAsF6) 4312 2.2.3. Lithium Tetrafluoroborate (LiBF4) 4312 2.2.4. Lithium Trifluoromethanesulfonate (LiTf) 4312 2.2.5. Lithium Bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiIm) and Its Derivatives 4313

/pdf/nonaqueous-liquid-electrolytes-for-lithium-based-uxm5ffbi18.pdf

Nonaqueous liquid electrolytes for lithium-based rechargeable batteries.

: The work carried out under this contract had its primary goal, the development of a polymer electrolyte-based rechargeable battery with the rate capability and cycle life required by batteries for the Army's communication devices. In particular, the battery is to perform over the temperature range of 239 to 343 K. The cell being developed has the configuration: Li/solid polymer electrolyte (SPE)/LiMn2O4. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based electrolytes with improved low temperature conductivity can be prepared with the use of carefully selected plasticizer compositions from ternary solvent mixtures consisting of propylene carbonate (PC), ethylene carbonate (EC) and butylene carbonate (BC), or from mixtures of PC, EC and 3-methyl-2-oxazolidinone (MEOX). All of the polymer electrolytes were prepared as free-standing films with a thickness of approx. 4.5 mil. Their conductivities were of the order of 0.003 S/cm at 298 K and 0.00011 S/cm at 233 K. They exhibited good stability to oxidation with oxidative currents of the order of 0.5 microamps per square centimeter at 4.2V versus a metallic lithium reference electrode on aluminum.

Rechargeable Lithium Battery with Solid Electrolyte.

http://ma.ecsdl.org/content/MA2011-02/17/1328.full.pdf

Four Electron Cycling of the O2 Electrode in the Rechargeable Non-Aqueous Lithium-Air Battery

Rechargeable lithium batteries : proceedings of the international symposium

Electrochemical Energy Summit--An International Summit in Support of Societal Energy Needs Report Title On October 10 to 12, 2011, The Electrochemical Society, Inc., held its first Electrochemical Energy Summit, E2S. The objective of the first E2S was to bring policy makers and researchers together to discuss what the world’s energy needs are and what answers electrochemical science and technology can provide. The first E2S consisted of a poster session, which provided an opportunity for scientists to present their solutions, a panel discussion made of representatives from the U.S.A., Japan, and Germany and a plenary lecture. These proceedings present a selected number of papers presented as posters at the summit. Conference Name: Electrochemical Energy Summit 2011 Conference Date: October 10, 2011 Electrochemical Energy Summit – An International Summit in Support of Societal Energy Needs C. Bock National Research Council Canada Ottawa, Ontario, Canada J. Leddy The University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa, USA Editors: Sponsoring Divisions: Published by The Electrochemical Society 65 South Main Street, Building D Pennington, NJ 08534-2839, USA tel 609 737 1902 fax 609 737 2743 www.electrochem.org TM Vol. 41, No. 31 All Divisions Copyright 2012 by The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved. This book has been registered with Copyright Clearance Center. For further information, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Salem, Massachusetts. Published by: The Electrochemical Society 65 South Main Street Pennington, New Jersey 08534-2839, USA Telephone 609.737.1902 Fax 609.737.2743 e-mail: ecs@electrochem.org Web: www.electrochem.org ISSN 1938-6737 (online) ISSN 1938-5862 (print) ISSN 2151-2051 (cd-rom) ISBN 978-1-56677-971-5 (PDF) ISBN 978-1-60768-330-8 (Softcover) Printed in the United States of America.

K. M. Abraham

Papers

Rechargeable Lithium Battery with Solid Electrolyte.

Four Electron Cycling of the O2 Electrode in the Rechargeable Non-Aqueous Lithium-Air Battery

Rechargeable lithium batteries : proceedings of the international symposium

Electrochemical Energy Summit An International Summit in Support of Societal Energy Needs

Synthesis and properties of bis(dimethyl phosphato)phenylarsine and related compounds