What actually limits the energy density of lithium-ion batteries? The chemical systems behind are the main reasons. Cathode and anode electrodes are where chemical reactions occur. The energy density of a single battery depends mainly on the breakthrough of the chemical system.
The theoretical specific energy of Li-S batteries and Li-O 2 batteries are 2567 and 3505 Wh kg −1, which indicates that they leap forward in that ranging from Li-ion batteries to lithium–sulfur batteries and lithium–air batteries.
The energy density of the traditional lithium-ion battery technology is now close to the bottleneck, and there is limited room for further optimization. Now scientists are working on designing new types of batteries with high energy storage and long life span. In the automotive industry, the battery ultimately determines the life of vehicles.
1. Introduction Among numerous forms of energy storage devices, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have been widely accepted due to their high energy density, high power density, low self-discharge, long life and not having memory effect , .
However, current mainstream electric vehicles loaded with lithium-ion batteries can only be driven about 200–300 km with a single charge, <500 km, which is closely related to the limited capacity of commercial lithium-ion batteries (about 250 Wh kg −1, 770 Wh L −1).
There is great interest in exploring advanced rechargeable lithium batteries with desirable energy and power capabilities for applications in portable electronics, smart grids, and electric vehicles. In practice, high-capacity and low-cost electrode materials play an important role in sustaining the progresses in lithium-ion batteries.