The lithium metal battery is strongly considered to be one of the most promising candidates for high-energy-density energy storage devices in our modern and technology-based society. However, uncontrollable lithium dendrite growth induces poor cycling efficiency and severe safety concerns, dragging lithium metal batteries out of practical applications. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the lithium metal anode and its dendritic lithium growth. First, the working principles and technical challenges of a lithium metal anode are underscored. Specific attention is paid to the mechanistic understandings and quantitative models for solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation, lithium dendrite nucleation, and growth. On the basis of previous theoretical understanding and analysis, recently proposed strategies to suppress dendrite growth of lithium metal anode and some other metal anodes are reviewed. A section dedicated to the potential of full-cell lithium metal batteries for practical applicatio...

Toward Safe Lithium Metal Anode in Rechargeable Batteries: A Review.

It is widely accepted that for electric vehicles to be accepted by consumers and to achieve wide market penetration, ranges of at least 500 km at an affordable cost are required. Therefore, significant improvements to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in terms of energy density and cost along the battery value chain are required, while other key performance indicators, such as lifetime, safety, fast-charging ability and low-temperature performance, need to be enhanced or at least sustained. Here, we review advances and challenges in LIB materials for automotive applications, in particular with respect to cost and performance parameters. The production processes of anode and cathode materials are discussed, focusing on material abundance and cost. Advantages and challenges of different types of electrolyte for automotive batteries are examined. Finally, energy densities and costs of promising battery chemistries are critically evaluated along with an assessment of the potential to fulfil the ambitious targets of electric vehicle propulsion. Electrification is seen as the future of automotive industry, and deployment of electric vehicles largely depends on the development of rechargeable batteries. Here, the authors survey the state-of-the-art advances in active materials, electrolytes and cell chemistries for automotive batteries.

Performance and cost of materials for lithium-based rechargeable automotive batteries

Solar Engineering Of Thermal Processes

Amid burgeoning environmental concerns, electrochemical energy storage has rapidly gained momentum. Among the contenders in the ‘beyond lithium’ energy storage arena, the lithium–sulfur (Li–S) battery has emerged as particularly promising, owing to its potential to reversibly store considerable electrical energy at low cost. Whether or not Li–S energy storage will be able to fulfil this potential depends on simultaneously solving many aspects of its underlying conversion chemistry. Here, we review recent developments in tackling the dissolution of polysulfides — a fundamental problem in Li–S batteries — focusing on both experimental and computational approaches to tailor the chemical interactions between the sulfur host materials and polysulfides. We also discuss smart cathode architectures enabled by recent materials engineering, especially for high areal sulfur loading, as well as innovative electrolyte design to control the solubility of polysulfides. Key factors that allow long-life and high-loading Li–S batteries are summarized. Li–S batteries are a low-cost and high-energy storage system but their full potential is yet to be realized. This Review surveys recent advances in understanding polysulfide chemistry at the positive electrode and the electrolyte and discusses approaches towards long-life and high-loading batteries.

Advances in lithium-sulfur batteries based on multifunctional cathodes and electrolytes

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have attracted tremendous interest because of their high theoretical energy density and cost effectiveness. The target of Li-S battery research is to produce batteries with a high useful energy density that at least outperforms state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries. However, due to an intrinsic gap between fundamental research and practical applications, the outstanding electrochemical results obtained in most Li-S battery studies indeed correspond to low useful energy densities and are not really suitable for practical requirements. The Li-S battery is a complex device and its useful energy density is determined by a number of design parameters, most of which are often ignored, leading to the failure to meet commercial requirements. The purpose of this review is to discuss how to pave the way for reliable Li-S batteries. First, the current research status of Li-S batteries is briefly reviewed based on statistical information obtained from literature. This includes an analysis of how the various parameters influence the useful energy density and a summary of existing problems in the current Li-S battery research. Possible solutions and some concerns regarding the construction of reliable Li-S batteries are comprehensively discussed. Finally, insights are offered on the future directions and prospects in Li-S battery field.

More Reliable Lithium-Sulfur Batteries: Status, Solutions and Prospects.

The solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), a passivation layer formed on electrodes, is critical to battery performance and durability. The inorganic components in SEI, including lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) and lithium fluoride (LiF), provide both mechanical and chemical protection, meanwhile control lithium ion transport. Although both Li2CO3 and LiF have relatively low ionic conductivity, we found, surprisingly, that the contact between Li2CO3 and LiF can promote space charge accumulation along their interfaces, which generates a higher ionic carrier concentration and significantly improves lithium ion transport and reduces electron leakage. The synergetic effect of the two inorganic components leads to high current efficiency and long cycle stability.

Synergetic Effects of Inorganic Components in Solid Electrolyte Interphase on High Cycle Efficiency of Lithium Ion Batteries

Three types of nitrogen-doped hollow carbon spheres with different pore sized porous shells are prepared to investigate the performance of sulfur confinement. The reason that why no sulfur is observed in previous research is determined and it is successfully demonstrated that the sulfur/polysulfide will overflow the porous carbon during the lithiation process.

Tailoring Pore Size of Nitrogen-Doped Hollow Carbon Nanospheres for Confining Sulfur in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Recent advancement of SiOx based anodes for lithium-ion batteries

The crucial role of mechanical stress in voltage hysteresis of lithium ion batteries in charge–discharge cycles is investigated theoretically and experimentally. A modified Butler–Volmer equation of electrochemical kinetics is proposed to account for the influence of mechanical stresses on electrochemical reactions in lithium ion battery electrodes. It is found that the compressive stress in the surface layer of active materials impedes lithium intercalation, and therefore, an extra electrical overpotential is needed to overcome the reaction barrier induced by the stress. The theoretical formulation has produced a linear dependence of the height of voltage hysteresis on the hydrostatic stress difference between lithiation and delithiation, under both open-circuit conditions and galvanostatic operation. Predictions of the electrical overpotential from theoretical equations agree well with the experimental data for thin film silicon electrodes.

Qinglin Zhang

Papers

Synergetic Effects of Inorganic Components in Solid Electrolyte Interphase on High Cycle Efficiency of Lithium Ion Batteries

Tailoring Pore Size of Nitrogen-Doped Hollow Carbon Nanospheres for Confining Sulfur in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Recent advancement of SiOx based anodes for lithium-ion batteries

Voltage hysteresis of lithium ion batteries caused by mechanical stress

Toward High Cycle Efficiency of Silicon‐Based Negative Electrodes by Designing the Solid Electrolyte Interphase