Lithium-ion batteries. A look into the future

TLDR

The paper provides a critical overview of recent lithium‑ion battery developments and evaluates the future prospects of super‑high‑capacity lithium‑sulfur and lithium‑air systems. The authors review advances in electrolytes—especially ionic liquids—, promising electrode materials, and high‑capacity tin and silicon alloy anodes, while also addressing super‑high‑capacity lithium‑sulfur and lithium‑air concepts. They find that carbon‑based nanocomposite morphologies are most likely to enable commercial use of tin and silicon alloy electrodes, and note that lithium reserves may constrain large‑scale electric‑vehicle adoption.

Abstract

A critical overview of the latest developments in the lithium ion batteries technology is reported. We first describe the evolution in the electrolyte area with particular attention to ionic liquids, discussing the expected application of these room temperature molten salts and listing the issues that still prevent their practical implementation. The attention is then focused on the electrode materials presently considered the most promising for enhancing the energy density of the batteries. At the anode side a discussion is provided on the status of development of high capacity tin and silicon lithium alloys. We show that the morphology that is the most likely to ensure commercial exploitation of these alloy electrodes is that involving carbon-based nanocomposites. We finally touch on super-high-capacity batteries, discussing the key cases of lithium-sulfur and lithium-air and attempting to forecast their chances to eventually reach the status of practically appealing energy storage systems. We conclude with a brief reflection on the amount of lithium reserves in view of its large use in the case of global conversion from gasoline-powered cars to hybrid and electric cars.