Electrochemical energy storage: The lithium-ion batteries

The increasing development of mobile consumer electronics (computers, cellular phones, videocameras...) as well as needs either for electrical vehicles to reduce the car pollution or for spatial engines has prompted the scientific and industrial communities to provide new types of batteries displaying improved performances in terms of volume and weight reduction, of reliability, safety and longlife cycling. The traditional batteries currently used up to now, "lead" and "nickel/cadmium",cannot provide all these properties. Moreover, lead and cadmium are considered to be poisonous. Recently, the lithium-ion rechargeable batteries appeared very beneficial for modern applications demanding improved performances and safety. These batteries are based on intercalation electrodes able to insert and release reversibly lithium ions. The present practice is to combine a carbonaceous material as anode with a transition metal oxide(LiNiO2, LiMn2O4, LiCoO2....) as cathode. The electrolyte can be either a liquid, a solid or a gel. After a brief comparison of the various types of rechargeable batteries, we will describe in more details the properties and characteristics of the lithium-ion batteries and especially the mechanisms related both to lithium intercalation into various carbon electrodes and to the interactions occurring between the electrode and the electrolyte.