Materials Challenges and Prospects of Electrical Energy Storage
Arumugam Manthiram
Materials Science and Engineering Program & Texas Materials Institute
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX 78712
Lithium-ion batteries have revolutionized the portable electronics market, but their adoption for
transportation and stationary electrical energy storage applications is hampered by high cost and
safety concerns. The success of lithium-ion technology for these applications relies heavily on
the development of low-cost, safe cathode and anode materials with high energy and power
along with long cycle life. After providing an overview of the pros and cons of existing cathode
and anode materials, this presentation will focus on the design and development of next
generation of electrode materials. Specifically, the presentation will focus on high-capacity,
high-voltage oxide and high-capacity sulfur cathodes as well as safe nano-engineered alloy
anodes. With the oxide cathodes, the importance of surface structure and surface chemistry to
realize a robust electrode-electrolyte interface and superior electrochemical performance will be
focused. With the sulfur cathodes, sulfur-carbon and sulfur-polymer composite cathodes with
unique nanostructures as well as novel cell configurations with an interlayer between the
separator and the cathode to capture the polysulfide ions and realize capacities > 1,000 mAh/g at
high rates with an energy density two times higher than those of current lithium-ion batteries will
be presented. With the alloy anodes, the importance of nano-architectures to avoid particle
growth and realize long cycle life will be discussed.