Hot Topics in Battery Science and Technology from ACS Articles

The current era is frequently and justifiably referred to as the silicon age or as the age of information. Recent years have seen the added twist that users in this era expect the information to be readily available at all times and at all places. The information age has morphed into the age of portable information. In enabling this age of portable information, one could argue that lithium-ion batteries have played a central, starring role.

MSE Supplies is a leading supplier of high quality anode, cathode and electrolyte materials for Lithium Ion Batteries research and manufacturing.

The community at large clearly recognizes the need to push new advances in battery science and technology by building on current successes. This list is a compilation of articles that address new directions in relevant areas and have appeared from 2013 to 2015 in three different ACS journals: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Chemistry of Materials, and The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. The selection of articles reflects a combination of what is seen as impactful, opening up new directions, or providing deep and important insights.

-From the editorial by Ram Seshadri, Kristin Persson, Prashant V. Kamat, and Yiying Wu
DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.5b02350

Phase Behavior and Electrochemical Characterization of Blends of Perfluoropolyether, Poly(ethylene glycol), and a Lithium Salt
Dominica H. C. Wong, Alessandra Vitale, Didier Devaux, Austria Taylor, Ashish A. Pandya, Daniel T. Hallinan, Jacob L. Thelen, Sue J. Mecham, Simon F. Lux, Alexander M. Lapides, Paul R. Resnick, Thomas J. Meyer, Robert M. Kostecki, Nitash P. Balsara, and Joseph M. DeSimone
Chemistry of Materials, 2015, 27 (2), pp 597-603
DOI: 10.1021/cm504228a

Understanding the Chemical Stability of Polymers for Lithium-Air Batteries
Chibueze V. Amanchukwu, Jonathon R. Harding, Yang Shao-Horn, and Paula T. Hammond
Chemistry of Materials, 2015, 27 (2), pp 550-561
DOI: 10.1021/cm5040003

Elemental Selenium for Electrochemical Energy Storage
Chun-Peng Yang, Ya-Xia Yin, and Yu-Guo Guo
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2015, 6 (2), pp 256-266
DOI: 10.1021/jz502405h

Accelerating Electrolyte Discovery for Energy Storage with High-Throughput Screening
Lei Cheng, Rajeev S. Assary, Xiaohui Qu, Anubhav Jain, Shyue Ping Ong, Nav Nidhi Rajput, Kristin Persson, and Larry A. Curtiss
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2015, 6 (2), pp 283-291
DOI: 10.1021/jz502319n

Fast Lithium Ion Conduction in Li₂SnS₃: Synthesis, Physicochemical Characterization, and Electronic Structure
Jacilynn A. Brant, Danielle M. Massi, N. A. W. Holzwarth, Joseph H. MacNeil, Alexios P. Douvalis, Thomas Bakas, Steve W. Martin, Michael D. Gross, and Jennifer A. Aitken
Chemistry of Materials, 2015, 27 (1), pp 189-196
DOI: 10.1021/cm5037524

Single Nanowire Electrode Electrochemistry of Silicon Anode by in Situ Atomic Force Microscopy: Solid Electrolyte Interphase Growth and Mechanical Properties
Xing-Rui Liu, Xin Deng, Ran-Ran Liu, Hui-Juan Yan, Yu-Guo Guo, Dong Wang, and Li-Jun Wan
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2014, 6 (22), pp 20317-20323
DOI: 10.1021/am505847s

Understanding Side Reactions in K-O₂ Batteries for Improved Cycle Life
Xiaodi Ren, Kah Chun Lau, Mingzhe Yu, Xuanxuan Bi, Eric Kreidler, Larry A. Curtiss, and Yiying Wu
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2014, 6 (21), pp 19299-19307
DOI: 10.1021/am505351s

Fast Na-Ion Conduction in a Chalcogenide Glass-Ceramic in the Ternary System Na₂Se-Ga₂Se₃-GeSe₂
Seong K. Kim, Alvin Mao, Sabyasachi Sen, and Sangtae Kim
Chemistry of Materials, 2014, 26 (19), pp 5695-5699
DOI: 10.1021/cm502542p

New Horizons for Conventional Lithium Ion Battery Technology
Evan M. Erickson, Chandan Ghanty, and Doron Aurbach
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2014, 5 (19), pp 3313-3324
DOI: 10.1021/jz501387m

Anti-Site Reordering in LiFePO₄: Defect Annihilation on Charge Carrier Injection
Kyu-Young Park, Inchul Park, Hyungsub Kim, Hee-dae Lim, Jihyun Hong, Jongsoon Kim, and Kisuk Kang
Chemistry of Materials, 2014, 26 (18), pp 5345-5351
DOI: 10.1021/cm502432q

A Lithium-Ion Sulfur Battery Based on a Carbon-Coated Lithium-Sulfide Cathode and an Electrodeposited Silicon-Based Anode
Marco Agostini, Jusef Hassoun, Jun Liu, Moongook Jeong, Hiroki Nara, Toshiyuki Momma, Tetsuya Osaka, Yang-Kook Sun, and Bruno Scrosati
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2014, 6 (14), pp 10924-10928
DOI: 10.1021/am4057166

Chemical and Structural Indicators for Large Redox Potentials in Fe-Based Positive Electrode Materials
Brent C. Melot, David O. Scanlon, Marine Reynaud, Gwenaëlle Rousse, Jean-Noël Chotard, Marc Henry, and Jean-Marie Tarascon
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2014, 6 (14), pp 10832-10839
DOI: 10.1021/am405579h

Voltage Gain in Lithiated Enolate-Based Organic Cathode Materials by Isomeric Effect
Sébastien Gottis, Anne-Lise Barrès, Franck Dolhem, and Philippe Poizot
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2014, 6 (14), pp 10870-10876
DOI: 10.1021/am405470p

Dependence of the Li-Ion Conductivity and Activation Energies on the Crystal Structure and Ionic Radii in Li₆MLa₂Ta₂O₁₂
Wolfgang G. Zeier, Shiliang Zhou, Beatriz Lopez-Bermudez, Katharine Page, and Brent C. Melot
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2014, 6 (14), pp 10900-10907
DOI: 10.1021/am4060194

Sulfur-Functionalized Mesoporous Carbons as Sulfur Hosts in Li-S Batteries: Increasing the Affinity of Polysulfide Intermediates to Enhance Performance
Kimberly A. See, Young-Si Jun, Jeffrey A. Gerbec, Johannes K. Sprafke, Fred Wudl, Galen D. Stucky, and Ram Seshadri
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2014, 6 (14), pp 10908-10916
DOI: 10.1021/am405025n

Understanding Phase Transformation in Crystalline Ge Anodes for Li-Ion Batteries
Linda Y. Lim, Nian Liu, Yi Cui, and Michael F. Toney
Chemistry of Materials, 2014, 26 (12), pp 3739-3746
DOI: 10.1021/cm501233k

Highly Reversible Room-Temperature Sulfur/Long-Chain Sodium Polysulfide Batteries
Xingwen Yu, and Arumugam Manthiram
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2014, 5 (11), pp 1943-1947
DOI: 10.1021/jz500848x

Local Structure and Dynamics in the Na Ion Battery Positive Electrode Material Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂F₃
Zigeng Liu, Yan-Yan Hu, Matthew T. Dunstan, Hua Huo, Xiaogang Hao, Huan Zou, Guiming Zhong, Yong Yang, and Clare P. Grey
Chemistry of Materials, 2014, 26 (8), pp 2513-2521
DOI: 10.1021/cm403728w

The Use of Redox Mediators for Enhancing Utilization of Li₂S Cathodes for Advanced Li-S Battery Systems
Stefano Meini, Ran Elazari, Ariel Rosenman, Arnd Garsuch, and Doron Aurbach
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2014, 5 (5), pp 915-918
DOI: 10.1021/jz500222f

One-Dimensional Silicon Nanostructures for Li Ion Batteries
Taeseup Song, Liangbing Hu, and Ungyu Paik
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2014, 5 (4), pp 720-731
DOI: 10.1021/jz4027979

Ion Conducting Membranes for Fuel Cells and other Electrochemical Devices
Klaus-Dieter Kreuer
Chemistry of Materials, 2014, 26 (1), pp 361-380
DOI: 10.1021/cm402742u

Sulfate-Based Polyanionic Compounds for Li-Ion Batteries: Synthesis, Crystal Chemistry, and Electrochemistry Aspects
G. Rousse, and J. M. Tarascon
Chemistry of Materials, 2014, 26 (1), pp 394-406
DOI: 10.1021/cm4022358

Phase Stability and Transport Mechanisms in Antiperovskite Li₃OCl and Li₃OBr Superionic Conductors
Alexandra Emly, Emmanouil Kioupakis, and Anton Van der Ven
Chemistry of Materials, 2013, 25 (23), pp 4663-4670
DOI: 10.1021/cm4016222

Mesoporous Carbon-Carbon Nanotube-Sulfur Composite Microspheres for High-Areal-Capacity Lithium-Sulfur Battery Cathodes
Terrence Xu, Jiangxuan Song, Mikhail L. Gordin, Hiesang Sohn, Zhaoxin Yu, Shuru Chen, and Donghai Wang
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2013, 5 (21), pp 11355-11362
DOI: 10.1021/am4035784

Sulfur Speciation in Li-S Batteries Determined by Operando X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy
Marine Cuisinier, Pierre-Etienne Cabelguen, Scott Evers, Guang He, Mason Kolbeck, Arnd Garsuch, Trudy Bolin, Mahalingam Balasubramanian, and Linda F. Nazar
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2013, 4 (19), pp 3227-3232
DOI: 10.1021/jz401763d

Combining Accurate O₂ and Li₂O₂ Assays to Separate Discharge and Charge Stability Limitations in Nonaqueous Li-O₂ Batteries
Bryan D. McCloskey, Alexia Valery, Alan C. Luntz, Sanketh R. Gowda, Gregory M. Wallraff, Jeannette M. Garcia, Takashi Mori, and Leslie E. Krupp
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2013, 4 (17), pp 2989-2993
DOI: 10.1021/jz401659f

Optimized Anion Exchange Membranes for Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries
Dongyang Chen, Michael A. Hickner, Ertan Agar, and E. Caglan Kumbur
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2013, 5 (15), pp 7559-7566
DOI: 10.1021/am401858r

Highly Flexible, Proton-Conductive Silicate Glass Electrolytes for Medium-Temperature/Low-Humidity Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells
Hyeon-Ji Lee, Jung-Hwan Kim, Ji-Hye Won, Jun-Muk Lim, Young Taik Hong, and Sang-Young Lee
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2013, 5 (11), pp 5034-5043
DOI: 10.1021/am400836h

High-Energy Cathode Materials (Li₂MnO₃-LiMO₂) for Lithium-Ion Batteries
Haijun Yu, and Haoshen Zhou
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2013, 4 (8), pp 1268-1280
DOI: 10.1021/jz400032v

Li-O₂ Kinetic Overpotentials: Tafel Plots from Experiment and First-Principles Theory
V. Viswanathan, J. K. Nørskov, A. Speidel, R. Scheffler, S. Gowda, and A. C. Luntz
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2013, 4 (4), pp 556-560
DOI: 10.1021/jz400019y

Probing the Reaction Kinetics of the Charge Reactions of Nonaqueous Li-O₂Batteries
Yi-Chun Lu, and Yang Shao-Horn
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2013, 4 (1), pp 93-99
DOI: 10.1021/jz3018368