Vol. 53 (2019): Bulletin of the Chemists and Technologists of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Design of new active materials for electrochemical systems is the major contribution of chemists to the quest for new and efficient routes for energy storage and conversion. This long and unfair battle against The Second Law of Thermodynamics was finally recognized by The Nobel Comittee for Chemistry: John Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino received 2019 Nobel Prize for Chemistry “for the development of lithium-ion batteries”. This award is especially celebrated among electrochemists, since it is the first Nobel prize for electrochemistry-related topic after Jaroslav Heyrovský received one, 60 years ago.

Secret of lithium-ion batteries global success lies in their ability to be discharged and charged repeatedly, over several hundred cycles. They can also be partially discharged, because these batteries do not suffer from the memory effect. Their secret from scientific standpoint, however, lies in the possibility to „insert“ an electron into the Li ion, without formation of lithium metallic phase during battery charge, which is achieved by the use of graphite-based materials as negative electrodes. Change from metallic lithium (used in primary lithium cells) to graphite-based materials reduced cell potential to some extent, thus reducing the amount of stored energy, but enabled multiple charging and discharging. Development of these systems also included development of different materials for positive electrodes, most famous of them being based on LiCoO2 and LiFePO4 structures. Although there is not much room left for the development of new materials and electrolytes for Li-ion batteries, the present work is focused on their optimization for fast charging, increased cycle life, safety, durability in wide range of temperatures and environmental friendliness.