Week 1 Understanding Different Battery Chemistry

1.Prepare a table which includes materials & chemical reactions occurring at the anode and cathode of LCO, LMO, NCA, NMC, LFP and LTO type of lithium ion cells.Give your detailed explanation on it

2.Compare the differences between each type of Li+ion batteries based on their characteristics

LCO batteries: properties and usage

LCO stands for Lithium cobalt battery. Lithium cobalt oxide is one of the most common Lithium-ions, it has a chemical symbol which is LiCoO2 and is abbreviated as LCO. For simplification, Li-cobalt –which is the short term- can also be used for this type battery. Cobalt is the core active material which defines the character of the battery.

Lithium-ion batteries and concept

The most popular technology of the battery sector currently is the lithium ion battery. Relative to other types of batteries, lithium ion batteries have better energy, power density and higher cycling ability. These qualities are extremely important in the use in modern applications like electrical and hybrid vehicles and most importantly energy storage systems which are used in the renewable energy applications.The lithium ion batteries chemistry is the same across the different lithium-ion battery types; during discharge, Lithium-ions are moved to the positive cathode from the negative anode through the organic electrolyte. The anodes in all various technologies of lithium ion are all made from graphite. The differences are the cathode which contains changing cobalt, nickel or manganese concentrations. All various cathode types allow high lithium insertion and intercalation levels which result in large energy storage quantities.

LCO batteries technology and applications

LCO (Lithium cobalt oxide) was invented in the year 1991. Its anode material is LiaC6, the cathode material is LibCoO2 and the carrier is Li+.It is used in various applications ranging from electronic devices to all laptops and phone batteries.The majority of lithium-ion batteries for the portable devices are cobalt based. The system contains a cobalt oxide cathode (positive electrode) and graphite carbon anode (negative electrode).

Advantages and disadvantages of LCO batteries

The main advantages of the LCO batteries are:

• High energy density.
• Long runtime making it optimum for new technologies

The main disadvantages of the LCO batteries are:

• It has a relatively low discharge current so high load can lead to pack overheat
• The safety circuit of the LCO battery is typically limited to a 1C for charging and discharging.
• The internal resistance increases with cycling and aging. This high internal resistance can cause the battery to become unserviceable due to a large voltage drop under the load after a couple of years of use.

LMO Batteries: properties and usage

LMO stands for Lithium manganese oxide batteries, which are commonly referred to as lithium-ion manganese batteries or manganese spinel. This battery was discovered in the 1980s, yet the first commercial lithium-ion battery made with a cathode material made from lithium manganese was produced in 1996.

Lithium-ion batteries and concept

The most popular technology of the battery sector currently is the of the lithium ion battery. Relative to other types of batteries, lithium ion batteries have better energy, power density and higher cycling ability. These qualities are extremely important in the use in modern applications like electrical and hybrid vehicles and most importantly energy storage systems which are used in the renewable energy applications.The lithium ion batteries chemistry is the same across the different lithium-ion battery types; during discharge, Lithium-ions are moved to the positive cathode from the negative anode through the organic electrolyte. The anodes in all various technologies of lithium ion are all made from graphite. The differences are the cathode which contains changing cobalt, nickel or manganese concentrations. All various cathode types allow high lithium insertion and intercalation levels which result in large energy storage quantities.

LMO batteries technology and applications

LMO (Lithium magnesium oxide) was invented in the year 1996. Its anode material is LiaC6, the cathode material is LibMn2O4 and the carrier is Li+. It is used in different applications like power tools and electric cars.LMO batteries have the ability to deliver a lot of energy in a short period of time, which makes them extremely useful for use in power tools like drills.In 1996, lithium manganese oxide was first used as a cathode material. A three dimensional spinel structure was formed by this structure, this improves the flow of ions between the electrodes. The high flow decreases the internal resistance and increases loading capability.LMO batteries are usually used in medical devices and equipment, power tools, electric bikes and more. Because of their thermal resistance and higher safety. LMO batteries can also be used for laptops and electrical cars.

Advantages and disadvantages of LMO batteries

The main advantages of the LMO batteries are:

• High temperature stability and safety relative to other Li-ion types as it has integrally high thermal stability thus needs less safety circuitry than cobalt system.
• High rate capability due to low internal cell resistance which benefits fast charging and high current discharging.

The main disadvantage of the LMO batteries is:

• Lower capacity relative to cobalt-based system,yet it still has an energy density which is nearly 50% higher than the nickel based system.

NCA batteries: properties and usage

NCA battery stands for Lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide based battery (LiNiCoAlO₂). Also, NCA batteries are becoming more and more important in in-grid storage and electrical power terrain applications.

Lithium-ion batteries and concept

The most popular technology of the battery sector currently is the of the lithium ion battery. Relative to other types of batteries, lithium ion batteries have better energy, power density and higher cycling ability. These qualities are extremely important in the use in modern applications like electrical and hybrid vehicles and most importantly energy storage systems which are used in the renewable energy applications.The lithium ion batteries chemistry is the same across the different lithium-ion battery types; during discharge, Lithium-ions move to the positive cathode from the negative anode through the organic electrolyte. The anodes in all various technologies of lithium ion are all made from graphite. The differences are the cathode which contains changing cobalt, nickel or manganese concentrations. All various cathode types allow high lithium insertion and intercalation levels which result in large energy storage quantities.

NCA battery technology and applications

NCA (Lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide) battery was invented in the year 1999. Its anode material is LiaC6, the cathode material is LibNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 and the carrier is Li+. It is used in different applications like power grid applications, medical devices and electric cars. Most notably Tesla deploys NCA batteries in their electric vehicles system. NCA batteries can store the same amount of energy as NMC.NCA batteries are not widely common in the consumer industry, but are quite promising in the electric car industry.

Advantages and disadvantages of NCA batteries

The main advantages of the NCA batteries are:

• High specific energy
• Reasonably good specific power
• Long life span
• NCA cathodes contain the most energy amount by weight and volume (as NMC).

The main disadvantages of the NCA batteries are:

• Less safety than other Li-ion battery types (they require extra safety features and circuits for use in electric cars for example)
• Higher cost in comparison to other Li-ion battery types

Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt oxide (NMC):

Lithium Nickel Cobalt Manganese (Li(NiCoMn)O2) batteries are made of cathode materials which is combination of nickel, manganese and cobalt, typically one-third nickel, one-third manganese and one-third cobalt, also known as 1-1-1. Similar to Li-manganese, NMC can be tailored to serve as Energy Cells or Power Cells, like other lithium-ion battery varieties, NMC batteries can have either a high specific energy density or a high specific power. They however cannot have both properties in the same pack. For example, NMC in an 18650 cell for moderate load condition has a capacity of about 2,800mAh andcan deliver 4A to 5A. NMC in the same cell size can be optimized for specific power with capacity of about 2000mAh, but capable of delivering a continuous discharge current of 20A.

Lihium Ion Phosphate (LFP)

In Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) Batteries phosphate is used as cathode material, Li-phosphate offers good electrochemical performance with low resistance. This nano-scale phosphate material for cathode in Lithium Ion batteries is most viable option because of its low cost,environmental friendliness, long cycle and calendar lives (chemical stability) and good capacity (170 mAh/g). Doping with transition metals results in reduction of internal impedance. LiFePO4 batteries are incombustible in case of misuse during charging or discharging, they are more stable during overcharge or short circuit conditions and they can withstand high temperatures without decomposing. LFP is more tolerant to full charge conditions and is compartively less vunerable to stress even if kept at high voltage for a prolonged time.