In 1970, M.S. Whittingham of Exxon used titanium sulfide as the positive electrode material and metal lithium as the negative electrode material to make the first lithium battery.
In 1980, J. Goodenough discovered that lithium cobalt oxide can be used as a cathode material for lithium-ion batteries.
In 1982, R.R. Agarwal and J.R. Selman of the Illinois Institute of Technology discovered that lithium ions have the property of intercalating graphite, a process that is fast and reversible. At the same time, the safety hazards of lithium batteries made of metal lithium have attracted much attention. Therefore, people have tried to use the characteristics of lithium ions embedded in graphite to make rechargeable batteries. The first usable lithium-ion graphite electrode was successfully trial-produced at Bell Laboratories.
In 1983, M. Thackeray, J. Goodenough and others found that manganese spinel is an excellent cathode material with low price, stability and excellent conductivity and lithium conductivity. Its decomposition temperature is high, and its oxidizing property is much lower than that of lithium cobalt oxide. Even if there is a short circuit or overcharge, it can avoid the danger of burning and explosion.
In 1989, A.Manthiram and J.Goodenough found that a positive electrode with a polymeric anion would produce a higher voltage.
In 1991, Sony Corporation released the first commercial lithium-ion battery. Subsequently, lithium-ion batteries revolutionized the face of consumer electronics.
In 1996, Padhi and Goodenough found that phosphates with an olivine structure, such as lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), are more superior than traditional cathode materials, so they have become the current mainstream cathode materials.
With the widespread use of digital products such as mobile phones and notebook computers, lithium-ion batteries are widely used in such products with excellent performance, and are gradually developing into other product application fields.
In 1998, Tianjin Power Research Institute began commercial production of lithium-ion batteries.
On July 15, 2018, it was learned from Keda Coal Chemistry Research Institute that a special carbon anode material for high-capacity and high-density lithium batteries with pure carbon as the main component came out in the institute. The cruising range of the car can exceed 600 kilometers.
In October 2018, the research group of Professor Liang Jiajie and Chen Yongsheng of Nankai University and the research group of Lai Chao of Jiangsu Normal University successfully prepared a silver nanowire-graphene three-dimensional porous carrier with a multi-level structure, and supported metal lithium as a composite negative electrode material. This carrier can inhibit the formation of lithium dendrites, thereby enabling ultra-high-speed charging of batteries, which is expected to significantly extend the "lifetime" of lithium batteries. The research results were published in the latest issue of Advanced Materials.
In the first half of 2022, the main indicators of my country's lithium-ion battery industry achieved rapid growth, with output exceeding 280 GWh, a year-on-year increase of 150%.
On the morning of September 22, 2022, a new product of cathode roller, the core equipment of new energy lithium battery copper foil with a diameter of 3.0 meters in China, which was independently developed by the Fourth Institute of China Aerospace Science and Technology Group and passed to users, was launched in Xi'an, filling the technological gap in the domestic industry. The monthly production capacity of large-diameter cathode rolls has exceeded 100 units, marking a major breakthrough in the manufacturing technology of large-diameter cathode rolls in China.