Week 1 Understanding Different Battery Chemistry

Li-ion Batteries-

Li-ion battery is type of rechargeable battery. These are commonly used for the portable electronics & electrical vehicles and are growing in popularity in military & aerospace application.

Similar to Lead & Ni based architecture, Lithium ion uses Cathode (Positive electrode) & Anode (Negative electrode) and electrolyte as a conductor. Cathode is metal oxide & Anode is porous carbon material. During discharge ions flow from anode to cathode through the electrolyte & separator. Charge reverses the direction & current flows from Cathode to anode.

Types of Li-ion cells:

Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LCoO2) – LCO:

Its high specific energy makes the Lithium cobalt the popular choice for mobile phones, Laptops & the digital cameras. Battery consists of Cobalt oxide as a cathode & Graphite carbon as an anode. The cathode has the layered structure. During discharge lithium ions move from anode to cathode. The flow reverses on charge. Drawback of this battery pack is its short life span, low thermal stability & limited load capacities (Specific power).

Lithium Manganese Oxide (LiMn2O4) – LMO:

In this battery the Lithium manganese oxide is a cathode material. It has low internal resistance which improves current handling. It has high thermal stability & enhanced safety.

Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide (LiNiCoAlO2) – NCA:

It has high specific energy with good amount of specific power with the long-life span.

Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) – NMC:

In this Nickel Manganese Cobalt is used as a cathode material. These cells serve as a power cell.

It has a capacity of about 2800mAh & can deliver up to 4A - 5A.

Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) – LFP:

Lithium-Phosphate offers good electrochemical performance with low resistance. This is made possible with nano scale Phosphate cathode material. The key benefits are high current rating & long cycle life. It is more tolerant to the full charged condition.

Lithium Titanate (LiTi3O2) – LTO:

In this battery Anode graphite material is replaced with the Lithium titanate. Its nominal cell voltage is 2.4V.It can be fast charged & can deliver 10C of current.

Material & Chemical reactions occurring at the Anode, Cathode & Overall reactions of all type of the Li-ion cells are given in the table below: