Nanostructured electrode materials for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

Today, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are an essential portion of modern daily life. As a promising alternative to tra-ditional energy storage systems, they possess various advantages. This review attempts to provide the reader with an in-depth understanding of the working mechanisms, current technological progress, and scientific challenges for a wide variety of lithium-ion battery (LIB) electrode nanomaterials. Electrochemical thermodynamics and kinetics are the two main perspectives underlying our introduction, which aims to provide an informative foundation for the rational design of electrode materials. Moreover, both anode and cathode materials are clarified into several types, using some specific examples to demonstrate both their advantages and shortcomings, and some improvements are suggested as well. In addition, we summarize some recent research progress in the rational design and synthesis of nanostructured anode and cathode materials, together with their corresponding electrochemical performances. Based on all these discussions, potential directions for further development of LIBs are summarized and presented.