An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit. Electrodes are essential parts of batteries that can consist of a variety of materials depending on the type of battery.
A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. The anode of a conventional lithium-ion cell is typically graphite made from carbon. The cathode is typically a metal oxide. The electrolyte is typically a lithium salt in an organic solvent.
A potassium-ion battery or K-ion battery is a type of battery and analogue to lithium-ion batteries, using potassium ions for charge transfer instead of lithium ions. It was invented by the Iranian/American chemist Ali Eftekhari in 2004.
The sodium-ion battery (NIB or SIB) is a type of rechargeable battery that uses sodium ions (Na+) as its charge carriers. Its working principle and cell construction are almost identical with those of lithium-ion battery (LIB) types, but replace lithium with sodium. SIBs received academic and commercial interest in the 2010s and 2020s, largely due to the uneven geographic distribution, high environmental impact and high cost of many of the materials required for lithium-ion batteries. Chief among these are lithium, cobalt, copper and nickel, which are not strictly required for many types of sodium-ion batteries. The largest advantage of sodium-ion batteries is the natural abundance of sodium. Challenges to adoption of SIBs include low energy density and insufficient charge-discharge cycles.
Research in lithium-ion batteries has produced many proposed refinements of lithium-ion batteries. Areas of research interest have focused on improving energy density, safety, rate capability, cycle durability, flexibility, and cost.
Yang Shao-Horn is a Chinese American scholar, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering and a member of Research Laboratory of Electronics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is known for research on understanding and controlling of processes for storing electrons in chemical bonds towards zero-carbon energy and chemicals.
Debra R. Rolison is a physical chemist at the Naval Research Laboratory, where she is a head of the Advanced Electrochemical Materials section. Rolison's research involves the design, synthesis, and characterization of multi-functional nanostructures and ultra porous materials for rate-critical applications such as catalysis and energy storage. She is the 112th recipient of the William H. Nichols Medal Award.
Serena Corr is a chair in Functional Materials and Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield. She works on next-generation battery materials and advanced characterisation techniques for nanomaterials.
George William Crabtree was an American physicist known for his highly cited research on superconducting materials and, since 2012, for his directorship of the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR) at Argonne National Laboratory.
Paul Fenter is a senior physicist and leader for Interfacial Processes Group, in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and the former director of the Center for Electrochemical Energy Science (CEES), a DOE Energy Frontier Research Center.
Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides (abbreviated Li-NMC, LNMC, or NMC) are mixed metal oxides of lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt. They have the general formula LiNixMnyCozO2. The most important representatives have a composition with x + y + z that is near 1, with a small amount of lithium on the transition metal site. In commercial NMC samples, the composition typically has < 5% excess lithium. Structurally materials in this group are closely related to lithium cobalt(III) oxide (LiCoO2) and have a layered structure but possess an ideal charge distribution of Mn(IV), Co(III), and Ni(II) at the 1:1:1 stoichiometry. For more nickel-rich compositions, the nickel is in a more oxidized state for charge balance. NMCs are among the most important storage materials for lithium ions in lithium ion batteries. They are used on the positive side, which acts as the cathode during discharge.
Yayuan Liu is a Chinese-American materials scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research considers electrochemistry, nanomaterials and materials characterisation for the development of next-generation batteries. She was selected as one of the 2019 American Chemical Society Young Investigators and included in the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 list of top scientists.
Lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide (LLZO, Li7La3Zr2O12) or lithium lanthanum zirconate is a lithium-stuffed garnet material that is under investigation for its use in solid-state electrolytes in lithium-based battery technologies. LLZO has a high ionic conductivity and chemical stability against lithium metal, giving it an advantage for use as an electrolyte in solid-state batteries.
Alison Joy Downard is a New Zealand academic, and has been a full professor at the University of Canterbury since 2009. Her work focuses on surface chemistry, electrochemistry and nanoscale grafted layers.
The piezoelectrochemical transducer effect (PECT) is a coupling between the electrochemical potential and the mechanical strain in ion-insertion-based electrode materials. It is similar to the piezoelectric effect – with both exhibiting a voltage-strain coupling - although the PECT effect relies on movement of ions within a material microstructure, rather than charge accumulation from the polarization of electric dipole moments.
Sarah Helen Tolbert is an American chemist who is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research considers self-assembled nanomaterials, which includes inorganic phases and colloidal materials.
Andrea Russell is an American chemist who is a professor at the University of Southampton. She is Vice President of the International Society of Electrochemistry. Her research considers the use of spectroscopy to better understand the interface between electrodes and electrolytes.
Vanessa Claire Wood is an American engineer who is a professor at the ETH Zurich. She holds a chair in Materials and Device Engineering and serves as Vice President of Knowledge Transfer and Corporate Relations.
Jana Zaumseil is a German chemist who is a professor of physical chemistry at Heidelberg University. She serves as Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry and Earth Sciences. Her research considers organic electronic materials for optoelectronics.
Emily Warren is an American physicist who is a staff scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Her research considers high efficiency crystalline photovoltaics.
