Lithium–air battery

Example

Use in Lemonergy

Do not carry lithium-ion assumptions into every chemistry.

This is a reference concept. No executable Lemonergy block has been verified for this term.

Connected concepts

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Conversion reaction

An electrode reaction in which the host compound is broken down and reformed, as sulfur or a metal fluoride is, rather than lithium slotting into an intact structure. Conversion materials store more charge than intercalation hosts but suffer large volume change and voltage hysteresis.

Lithium-metal battery

A rechargeable cell whose negative electrode is lithium metal rather than a host material. It promises much higher energy density than lithium-ion, but lithium deposits unevenly on charge, so dendrites and short life have kept it from the mass market.

Lithium–sulfur battery

A cell pairing a lithium-metal negative electrode with a sulfur positive electrode, which is cheap, light and converts rather than intercalates. Theoretical specific energy is very high; dissolving polysulfides and short cycle life are the obstacles.

Overpotential

The extra voltage, beyond the equilibrium potential, needed to drive a reaction at a given rate at one electrode. Activation overpotential pays for charge transfer, concentration overpotential for depleted reactant, and both appear as polarization at the terminals.

Redox mediator

A dissolved molecule that is oxidised or reduced at the electrode and then carries that charge to an active material it can reach chemically, such as solid Li₂O₂ in a lithium–air battery, cutting the charging overpotential. Overcharge-protection additives work similarly: a redox shuttle oxidises at a set potential, diffuses to the negative electrode and returns, carrying the excess current.

Zinc–air cell

A cell whose positive electrode uses oxygen from the air, so almost all its volume is zinc and its energy density is very high. It powers hearing aids as a primary cell; rechargeable versions are being developed for grid storage.

References & further reading

Technical references

1. Promise and reality of post-lithium-ion batteries with high energy densities

   Jang Wook Choi, Doron Aurbach · Nature Reviews Materials · 2016

   Technical reference · Post-lithium-ion materials and battery concepts, including practical cell-level limitations; historical 2016 perspective.

Further reading on this topic

These sources provide broader context; they are not presented as citations for every statement in this entry.

2. DOE/EPRI 2013 Electricity Storage Handbook in Collaboration with NRECA

   Sandia National Laboratories · 2013

   Topic background · Storage technologies and grid services. The publisher notes that its historical cost and deployment figures are outdated.