Lithium and Sodium-Ion Batteries: The Replacement of the Metal-Anode
Authors: Elia Giuseppe Antonio , Agostini Marco , Verrelli Roberta , Hasa Ivana , Di Lecce Daniele , Hassoun Jusef 
Published: February 2020

Batteries based on alkali-ions, such as lithium, sodium and potassium are considered the energy storage systems of choice for the next generation applications, such as electrified mobility and supply for renewable energy storage [1]. These systems are, in principle, light, efficient and potentially capable to meet several of the targets characterizing the emerging markets [2]. However, the use of the alkali-metal anode is definitely hindered by severe safety issues, including extreme reactivity with the electrolyte, eventual dendrite formation and cell short-circuit, leading to possible heating, thermal runway and fire [3,4]. Therefore, the severe requirements of the modern society triggered the replacement of the metallic anode by alternative materials characterized by higher safety content, in particular based on carbon [5], alloys [6] and metal oxides [7]. This radical change, partially succeeding in particular for lithium [6], is however still limited to few examples of efficient systems, employed for practical energy storage [1,3], such as Graphite/LCO, Graphite/LFP and Graphite/LNMC. Within this paper we developed a series of lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries, including metal alloying [8], conversion [9] and graphene [10] anodes, high voltage spinel [11], olivine [12], sulfur [13,14] and oxygen [15] cathodes, and ionic liquid electrolyte [10,16] considered of interest for practical employment as alternative, safe and high energy storage systems for next generation applications.

Figure: examples of various sodium and lithium ion cells in which the metal anode has been replaced by alternative materials

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Figure 1