Lithium-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery in which lithium ions move from the anode to cathode during discharge, and from the cathode to the anode when charged.
The three primary functional components of a lithium ion battery are the anode, cathode, and electrolyte, for which a variety of materials may be used. Commercially, the most popular material for the anode is graphite. While the cathode maybe either a layered oxide, such as lithium cobalt oxide, or one based on a polyanion, such as lithium iron phosphate, or a spinel, such as lithium manganese oxide.
Depending on the choice of materials, the voltage, capacity, life, and safety of a lithium ion battery can change dramatically. The key difference between them and lithium batteries is that the latter are primary batteries containing metallic lithium while lithium-ion batteries are secondary batteries containing an intercalation anode material.
Li-ion chemistry is not as safe as nickel metal hydride or nickel-cadmium, because certain kinds of mistreatment may cause conventional Li-ion batteries to explode. A Li-ion cell requires several mandatory safety devices to be built in before it can be considered safe for use outside of a laboratory. These include shut-down separator (for over-temperature); tear-away tab (for internal pressure); vent (pressure relief) and thermal interrupt (over-current/overcharging).
These devices occupy useful space inside the cells, and reduce their reliability; typically, they permanently and irreversibly disable the cell when activated. They are required because the anode produces heat during use, while the cathode may produce oxygen during use.
Lithium ion batteries are one of the most popular types of battery for portable electronics, with one of the best energy-to-weight ratios, no memory effect, and a slow loss of charge when not in use. In addition to uses for consumer electronics, lithium-ion battery is growing in popularity for defense, automotive, and aerospace applications due to their high energy density.
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