This article can be used for Chemistry and Engineering & Technology teaching and learning related to electrochemistry and energy storage.A build-up of heat can also cause the pressure in your laptop to rise very quickly and BOOM! And before you know it, your laptop is a pool of melted plastic. Once there are flames in one cell, they can quickly spread to others. If this build-up of heat produces a spark, the highly flammable electrolyte can catch on fire. But if this separator gets ripped or damaged, the electrodes can touch. This prevents the electrodes of the battery’s cells from touching each other. For safety reasons, lithium-ion batteries include a separator. While this might be a good excuse for not handing in your English essay on time, it’s a pretty dangerous situation. However, you may have heard of some electronics, such as laptops or cell phones, bursting into flames because of their batteries. When manufacturers make lithium-ion batteries, they have to take certain precautions so that the batteries are safe to use. That can get expensive! The production and disposal of lithium-ion batteries also has a big impact on the environment, so the longer those batteries can last the better.Īs you learned, lithium is extremely reactive. A typical lithium-ion battery will last about 2-3 years before it has to be replaced. The biggest complaint is that they wear out fairly quickly whether you use them or not. While these batteries are pretty impressive, they do have their downsides. Are there any risks with using lithium-ion batteries? Still, these batteries weigh much less than other types of batteries that use metals like lead or nickel. As you’ve learned, intercalation materials are used as electrodes in lithium-ion batteries instead of actual lithium metal. Lithium is also the lightest of all metals. This means it can easily produce a lot of energy. In other words, it’s a measure of how easily an element can produce energy. Electropositivity is a measure of how easily an element can donate electrons to produce positive ions. First, lithium is the most electropositive element. This means they can give you a ton of energy without being very heavy. lithium-ion batteries have the highest charge density of any comparable system. What makes lithium-ion batteries good for mobile technologies? Sometimes lithium-ion batteries are referred to as "rocking chair batteries." This is because lithium ions 'rock' back and forth between the electrodes. Since this cycle can be repeated hundreds of times, this type of battery is rechargeable. This provides the energy to keep your device running. When the battery is charging, the lithium ions flow from the cathode to the anode, and the electrons move from the anode to the cathode.Īs long as lithium ions are making the trek from one electrode to another, there is a constant flow of electrons. The electrons, on the other hand, move from the anode to the cathode. They do this by moving through the electrolyte until they reach the positive electrode. When the lithium-ion battery in your mobile phone is powering it, positively charged lithium ions (Li+) move from the negative anode to the positive cathode. LiC 6 + CoO 2 ⇄ C 6 + LiCoO 2 How does recharging a lithium-ion battery work? Here is the full reaction (left to right = discharging, right to left = charging): There, the graphite intercalation compound LiC 6 forms graphite (C 6) and lithium ions. There, cobalt oxide combines with lithium ions to form lithium-cobalt oxide (LiCoO 2). Inside a lithium-ion battery, oxidation-reduction (Redox) reactions take place. What is the chemistry involved in lithium-ion batteries? In this case, the electrodes are able to have lithium-ions move easily in and out of their structures. Intercalation means that the molecules are able to insert something into them. These materials are used because they allow for i ntercalation. Lithium-metal oxides are used in the cathode and lithium-carbon compounds are used in the anode. Instead, lithium-ion batteries typically contain a lithium-metal oxide, such as lithium-cobalt oxide (LiCoO 2). That’s why lithium-ion batteries don’t use elemental lithium. Lithium is extremely reactive in its elemental form. Just like alkaline dry cell batteries, such as the ones used in clocks and TV remote controls, lithium-ion batteries provide power through the movement of ions. Parts of a lithium-ion battery (© 2019 Let’s Talk Science based on an image by ser_igor via iStockphoto).
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