Research given significant boost to develop lithium-rich battery cathodes

A team of scientists, including those based at the University of Oxford as part of the Faraday Institution CATMAT project, researching next-generation cathode materials have made a significant breakthrough in understanding oxygen-redox processes involved in lithium-rich cathode materials. The paper proposes strategies that offer potential routes to increase the energy density of lithium-ion batteries. Prof Peter Bruce, at the Department of Materials, Oxford University , said: 'In the ever more difficult quest to make incremental improvements to Li-ion battery energy density, being able to harness the potential of oxygen-redox cathodes and the bigger improvements they offer relative to the nickel rich cathodes in commercial use today is potentially significant. 'The deeper understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of oxygen-redox is an important step in informing strategies to mitigate the current limitations of such materials, bringing their potential commercial use a step closer to reality.' The deeper understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of oxygen-redox is an important step in informing strategies to mitigate the current limitations of such materials, bringing their potential commercial use a step closer to reality. Increasing the range of electric vehicles demands battery materials that can store more charge at higher voltages in order to achieve a higher "energy density". There are a limited number of ways to increase the energy density of the lithium-ion cathode materials.