Professor J. O. Thomas

We explain how a fascinating new - above all, 
potentially cheap - cathode material
for large-scale Li-ion  batteries, typically for 
hybrid electric vehicle applications, actually
works  in the battery at an atomic level. 
Micron-size particles of the material (Li2FeSiO4)
must lose and then regain one of its two Li ions 
(along with one electron) as the battery
is cycled. Essentially, we show that this occurs 
in a different way during the first cycle
compared to subsequent cycles.  The practical 
implication could be that the battery
must be precycled in an industrial production process.

2. What has motivated you to conduct this work? 

The need to find cheaper materials to make larger Li-ion
batteries an economically viable proposition. The currently
used materials are prohibitively expensive for upscaling.

3. Where do you see this work developing in the future? 

The industrial development of much larger Li-ion batteries for
a whole range of important applications: (hybrid) electric vehicles,
solar-energy storage, emergency power supplies, etc.

4. Are there any particular challenges facing future research in this area? 

As stated, sample purity remains a problem, but one which we hope to
solve in the near future. The materials works 
well, despite the present impurities.