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Lithium battery

In general, a battery is a collection of galvanic cells. A lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery is a rechargeable battery that is widely used in small electronics and, increasingly, in hybrid and electric vehicles. Both the anode and cathode contain lithium atoms in the Li-ion lithium ion battery. The anode is typically lithium cobalt (LiCoO2) in handheld electronics or lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (LiNiMnCoO2 or NMC) in electric vehicles.

While generating power, the outcome of the oxidation reaction at the anode are positively charged lithium ions and negatively charged electrons. At the cathode, the lithium cations gain electrons to form a lithium compound with a neutral charge. During charging these reactions take place in the opposite direction and electrons move from the negative anode to the positive cathode, storing electrical energy as chemical energy in the cell.

Lithium battery. This is a closer look inside a battery where, from left to right, the negative pole, the electrolyte or separator, and the positive pole can be differentiated. The negative pole contains layers of carbon ions and a few lithium ions moving towards the positive pole through the electrolyte. In the positive pole, there are layers of lithium ions, transition metal ions, and oxygen ions. On the top part of the image, there is a scheme of a circuit showing how the electrons move from the negative to the positive pole. If the movement of the electrons is reversed, the battery can be charged instead of discharged.

Figure 1: Lithium battery: the electrolytes are separated by a separator. The reaction can be reversed, which allows the battery to be charged.