What are the different types of cathode materials?

Cathode materials are usually a limiting factor in the production of reliable lithium-ion batteries. With rechargeable batteries with ever -growing use, scientists continue to look for cathode materials that combine high output with safe operation. Depending on the application, a number of materials are used. Consumer appliance batteries have long used cobalt oxide as their main cathode material and iron phosphate is required for electric batteries. The extra energy needed to change the materials between their gas, liquid and solid phases causes it to be impractical to design a battery that includes such a change. The first version of the rechargeable lithium battery used molten sulfur as a cathode surrounded by molten salt, which was 842 degrees Fahrenheit (450 Degrees Celsius). These batteries could provide a high output, but maintaining liquid materials was too much problem. Scientists were looking for a practical way of using sulfur as a cathode material.

One of the difficulties in the development of better cathode materials is their own volatility. In order to work, the cathode must have a strong electric charge with respect to another electrode, the anode. It requires a substance with a high oxygen content. Such a material is potentially very flammable, especially in combination with heat, which is often associated with the chemical reaction that takes place in the battery.

This is one of the reasons for interest in sulfur compounds for cathodes. Sulfur has the electrical properties of oxygen without its volatility. The problem with sulfur compounds is that they produce cathodes with shorter life, because their chemical reactions leave by -products that dissolve into an electrolyte material that separates both electrodes.

At the beginning of the 70s. LightestOf these compounds, titanium disulphide, it has been commonly used over this decade. It was replaced around 1980 with lithium cobalt oxide, which produced the first truly successful lithium-ion battery.

cobalt oxide is the dominant cathode material on the market and is commonly used in charging batteries of mobile phones and laptops. In medical equipment, such as cardiac defibrillators, silver vanadium oxide is commonly used for cathodes. This type of battery has silver as a by -product of its chemical reaction, which improves the conductivity of the battery.

Iron phosphate and, to a lesser extent, lithium titanate warned from car manufacturers as potential cathode materials for electric car batteries. One of the reasons is that the battery with cathodes made of these compounds can be quickly charged in just 10 minutes. Cathodes made of nikcat have the highest energy density. This high energy density means that they are not as safe as a battery of iron phosphate orlithium.