Lithium Insertion Compounds for Energy Storage

Abstract

The development of various lithium insertion compounds over the years has made lithium-ion batteries a commercial reality. This chapter provides an overview of the various cathode and anode hosts after providing an introduction to lithium insertion compounds and the principles of lithium-ion cells. Transition metal oxides crystallizing in a rock salt-based layer and the spinel structures and having highly oxidized M3+/4+ (M=Mn, Co and Ni) redox couples have emerged as the leading candidates for cathodes while the lightweight carbon has emerged as the leading anode for lithium-ion cells. However, chemical and structural instabilities limit the practical capacities of some of the cathodes while carbon exhibits an irreversible capacity loss. The challenge is to develop high capacity cathode hosts with compatible anodes for the next generation lithium-ion cells.