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12
Lithium Intercalation Cathode Materials for Lithium-Ion
Batteries

Arumugam Manthiram and Theivanayagam Muraliganth

12.1
Introduction

Lithium-ion batteries have revolutionized the portable electronics market, and
they are being intensively pursued for vehicle applications including hybrid
electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and elec-
tric vehicles (EVs). They are also being seriously considered for the efficient
storage and utilization of intermittent renewable energies like solar and wind.
The attractiveness of lithium-ion batteries for these applications is due to their
much higher energy density compared to the other rechargeable systems. This
higher energy density is a result of our ability to achieve at least 4 V per cell
in practical systems by means of using nonaqueous electrolytes, the figure for
aqueous electrolyte-based systems normally being <2 V [1]. The use of nonaque-
ous electrolytes also offers an added advantage of a wider operating temperature.
However, the overall performance of lithium-ion batteries, including energy den-
sity, power capability (charge-discharge rate), safety, and cost, is related to the
properties and characteristics of the various components (anodes, cathodes, and
electrolytes) used in the cells. Of these, the cathode materials play a critical
role in terms of cost, safety, energy, and power, and this chapter provides an
overview of the developments in lithium insertion cathode materials for lithium-ion
batteries.

12.2
History of Lithium-Ion Batteries

The concept of rechargeable lithium batteries was first illustrated with a transition
metal sulfide TiS 2 as the cathode, metallic lithium as the anode, and a nonaqueous
electrolyte [2]. During discharge, the Li + ions from the metallic lithium anode
are inserted into the empty octahedral sites of the layered TiS 2 cathode, this
being accompanied by a reduction of the Ti 4+ ions to Ti 3+ ions. During charge,

Handbook of Battery Materials, Second Edition. Edited by Claus Daniel and J¨ urgen O. Besenhard.
 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. Published 2011 by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.