ChemElectroChem: Beyond Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Abstract

Generations to come: Over the past decade, lithium-ion batteries have been widely applied. However, they still face great challenges to further improve their energy density and stability. Therefore, it is necessary to develop alternative energy-storage technologies with the potential for higher energy densities than those of lithium-ion batteries, that are so-called “beyond lithium-ion batteries”. The development of efficient energy-storage technologies is important to build a sustainable society. Over the past decade, lithium-ion batteries have been widely applied in electric vehicles, portable electronics, and household/grid-connected energy storage systems. However, lithium-ion batteries still face great challenges in further improving their energy density and stability. It is necessary to develop an alternative energy-storage technology that has the potential for higher energy densities than those of lithium-ion batteries, so-called “beyond lithium-ion batteries”. Some technologies “beyond lithium-ion batteries” are expected to exceed the theoretical limits of lithium-ion battery technology, including sodium/ potassium-ion batteries, lithium-sulfur batteries, metal-air batteries, supercapacitors, which are quickly being approached by cell manufacturers. As for sodium-/potassium-ion batteries, their advantage is that the reserves of potassium and sodium are abundant. However, sodium-/potassium-ion batteries have a relatively low potential, owing to the electrostatic repulsion, while the low melting point of sodium-/potassium-ion batteries may make them dangerous in the event of thermal runaway. For all-solid-state Li−S batteries, it is necessary to deeply understand the charge transport in the composite cathode. For metal-air batteries, the optimization of metal anodes and air electrodes with high utilization and excellent cyclability is key to improving their energy conversion efficiency and cycle life. Supercapacitors work in a different way compared with the batteries mentioned above. The challenge for current supercapacitor technology is to improve the energy density without sacrificing the power density and the cycle life. Therefore, these problems in energy-storage technologies beyond lithium-ion batteries need to be solved urgently. In this research topic, we have collected a series of valuable invited contributions regarding the second life battery use and other novel energy-storage technologies beyond Li-ion batteries. As the Guest Editors appointed by ChemElectroChem, we would like to thank all of the authors for their valuable contributions in this research topic, and all the reviewers for their important and thoughtful comments and insights. We hope that this Special Collection on Beyond Li–Ion Batteries will provide some useful insights for the future development of energy storage/conversion technologies, and inspire researchers to comprehend the advanced materials chemistry for energy-related applications. Yawen Tang received his BS degree and MS degree from Nanjing Normal University (China) in 1992 and 2002, respectively, and his PhD from Nanjing University of Science & Technology (China) in 2011. He is currently a professor at College of Chemistry and Materials Science at Nanjing Normal University (China). His main research interests are the synthesis and assembly of nanomaterials, and their applications in batteries, fuel cells, and photocatalysis. Jong-Min Lee received his Ph.D degree at Department of Chemical Engineering at Columbia University (USA) in 2003. He worked in the Chem. Sci. Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (USA) and at the Department of Chemical Engineering in University of California at Berkeley (USA) as a postdoctoral fellow in 2006–2008. He is currently an associate professor in School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at Nanyang Technological University (Singapore). His research interests are electrochemistry, green chemistry, and nanotechnology. Gengtao Fu received his PhD degree at School of Chemistry and Materials Science at Nanjing Normal University (China) in 2017. He spent one year (2015–2016) as a visiting scholar at Materials Science and Engineering Program and Texas Materials Institute, University of Texas at Austin (USA). He worked at Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) under the supervision of Prof. Jong-Min Lee as a research fellow in 2017–2019. He currently works at the Materials Science and Engineering Program and Texas Materials Institute (USA) with Prof. John B. Goodenough, University of Texas at Austin (USA). His current research interests are in the areas of nanostructured electrocatalysts and their application in energy storage and conversion.