How to Make Better Li(Na)ion Batteries via Chemistry
Abstract
Rechargeable lithium ion batteries, because of their high energy density, have conquered most of today’s portable electronics and they stand as serious contenders for EV’s and grid applications. Therefore, for this to happen, materials with higher energy densities while being sustainable, scalable, reliable and low cost must be developed. The challenges for chemists are enormous and this calls for new materials, new processes and new concepts. Some of them will be addressed through this presentation. Firstly, the design of novel high voltage polyanionic compounds involving either Li or Na-based fluorosulfates, sulfates and oxysulfates such as Li2CuO(SO4)2 will be described. Secondly, the speaker will show how the discovery, via a chemical game approach, of a reversible Li-driven anionic redox process among Li-rich layered oxides represents a transformational approach for creating advanced electrode materials for Li-based energy storage batteries. Lastly, concerning sustainability, the speaker's approaches towards the eco-efficient elaboration of electrodes together with his new findings regarding Na-ion chemistry which enlists novel materials design and their implementation in full Na-ion cells will be discussed.
About the speaker
Prof. Jean-Marie Tarascon received his PhD in Solid State Chemistry from the University of Bordeaux in 1981. Most of his career was spent in the US, first at Cornell University in 1980, then Bell Laboratory and Bellcore until 1994. Prof Tarascon is currently Professor of Chemistry of Materials and Energy at the Collège de France. He is also the director of the Research Network on Electrochemical Energy Storage, a research and technology transfer network devoted to energy storage devices initiated by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research.
Prof. Tarascon’s field of research is in the development of new techniques for the synthesis of new electronic materials (superconductors, ferroelectrics, fluoride glasses and rechargeable batteries materials) for new solid state electronic devices, and for relating crystal structure to electronic, optical, and magnetic properties. His work has primarily focused on some electronic properties of Chevrel phases as well as their ability to insert or deinsérer alkali ions. He has made outstanding contributions in the field of superconductivity and was the original proponent of the thin and flexible plastic lithium ion battery based on a strong and highly resistant hybrid polymer system that is presently commercialized. As the head of the Institute of Chemistry of Picardie and coordinator of the European Research Institute for battery research (ALISTORE-ERI), he is exploiting new Li reactivity concepts such as conversion or displacement reactions, and novel electrodes designs for the next generation of Li-ion batteries based on nano-electrodes/electrolyte components.
Elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society in 2014, Prof. Tarascon is also a Member of the American Chemical Society, Electrochemical Society and Materials Research Society. He is the author of about 69 patents and more than 520 publications, as well as the recipient of many awards, the most recent of which are the Volta Medal, the 2004 "ISI AWARD", nomination to the French Academy of Sciences in 2005, and the UPJV gold medalist in 2008.
