Recent Achievements on Inorganic Electrode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

TLDR

Lithium‑ion battery technology, originating from intercalation studies 40 years ago, has evolved into a commercial product and, through intense research, yielded a diverse array of electrode materials with deep structure‑property insights that drive higher electrochemical performance and application‑specific diversification. This paper offers a global, critical review of inorganic electrode materials for lithium‑ion batteries, organized by reaction mechanism and structural dimensionality. It emphasizes recent advances that extend beyond material chemistry and microstructure to include interfacial chemistry and improved characterization techniques. The authors conclude with a brief personal perspective on plausible future developments in the field.

Abstract

The lithium-ion battery technology is rooted in the studies of intercalation of guest ions into inorganic host materials developed ca. 40 years ago. It further turned into a commercial product, which will soon blow its 25th candle. Intense research efforts during this time have resulted in the development of a large spectrum of electrode materials together with deep understanding of the underlying structure-property relationships that govern their performance. This has enabled an ever increasing electrochemical yield together with the diversification of the technology into several subfamilies, tailoring materials to application requirements. The present paper aims at providing a global and critical perspective on inorganic electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries categorized by their reaction mechanism and structural dimensionality. Specific emphasis is put on recent research in the field, which beyond the chemistry and microstructure of the materials themselves also involves considering interfacial chemistry concepts alongside progress in characterization techniques. Finally a short personal perspective is provided on some plausible development of the field.