Lithium-ion Battery
This is a Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery, which is one of the most recent types of battery that got discussed a lot due to the rise of smartphones. It is a secondary battery. Inside the battery, lithium ions move from a negative electrode through an electrolyte to the positive electrode, hence the name of Li-ion battery.
It is the fastest-growing battery system which started with military and aerospace application. Nowadays, Li-ion is mostly found in places such as laptops or smartphones. It has a greater energy storage capacity than NiCd battery and Lead Acid battery.
The lightweight characteristic is also one of its selling points. It also comes with a variety of shapes, which includes small or large cylindrical, flat or pouch, and also the rigid plastic cases with a large threaded terminal.
Here is the construction of Li-ion battery:
Here is the chemical reaction for a Li-ion battery:
It has a gravimetric energy density of 110~160, a cycle life of 500 to 1000, and a cell voltage of 3.6V. The typical cost is usually $100 (7.2) (Which has a $0.14 cost per cycle).
Its advantage includes high energy density, as well as low maintenance because it wouldn’t have the memory effect. However, there are also many limitations for li-ion batteries.
One of them is that it is expensive to manufacture and not fully mature yet. It also has many safety issues such as fire hazards and transportation restrictions.
One of the most recent examples is Samsung Note 7, which has its battery catch on fire after charging and caused many troubles.