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The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino, recognizing their groundbreaking contributions to the field of lithium-ion batteries.

Notably, John B. Goodenough, who is already 97 years old this year, deserves special mention here. Previously, this record was held by Leonid Hurwicz, who won the 2007 Nobel Prize in Economics at the age of 90.

Lithium batteries have already become deeply embedded in every aspect of our daily lives, making an award in this field well-deserved. Today, let’s briefly explore the fascinating history behind lithium batteries.

The development of human society is inseparable from energy, and each of the major industrial revolutions has relied heavily on advancements in energy-storage technologies. Today, lithium-ion batteries power the world—ranging from smartphones to electric vehicles—and have become ubiquitous, seamlessly enabling an increasingly mobile global landscape. Compared with other commercially available rechargeable batteries, lithium-ion cells stand out for their high energy density, long cycle life, wide operating temperature range, and exceptional safety and reliability, making them a key focus of intense research efforts by scientists worldwide.

Lithium-ion batteries are secondary batteries (rechargeable batteries) composed primarily of a cathode, an anode, an electrolyte, a separator, and an external circuit. Inside the battery, charged atoms—also known as ions—move along a path between the two electrodes, generating an electric current. Lithium-ion batteries function mainly by facilitating the movement of lithium ions between the cathode and anode. During charging, lithium ions detach from the cathode material and travel through the electrolyte to reach the anode, while electrons move from the anode, via the external circuit, to the cathode. Conversely, during discharge, both lithium ions and electrons flow in the opposite direction compared to the charging process. In today’s most common type of rechargeable lithium-ion battery, the cathode is made of lithium cobalt oxide, while the anode consists of carbon-based materials.

In 1912, lithium-metal batteries were first proposed and studied by Gilbert N. Lewis. However, due to lithium metal's highly reactive chemical properties, its processing, storage, and use placed extremely high demands on the environment, which for a long time prevented lithium batteries from being widely adopted.

In the 1970s, as the United States experienced an oil crisis, the government recognized its excessive reliance on oil imports and began vigorously developing solar and wind energy. However, due to the intermittent nature of solar and wind power, rechargeable batteries ultimately became essential for storing this renewable, clean energy.

At this time, M. Stanley Whittingham, a chemistry professor at Binghamton University in New York, drafted the initial design for the lithium battery, using titanium sulfide as the cathode material and metallic lithium as the anode material, thus creating the first prototype of the new-type lithium battery.

Lithium-ion batteries evolved from lithium batteries, and with the advancement of science and technology, they have now become the mainstream choice.

The fundamental concept of lithium-ion batteries originated in 1972, when M. Armand and others proposed the "rocking chair battery." In the research on lithium-ion batteries, the development of both positive and negative electrode materials has been critical to advancing the technology. Five distinguished scientists have made groundbreaking contributions in this area, notably John B. Goodenough, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin in the U.S., whose pioneering work has significantly propelled the commercialization of modern cathode materials.

At the age of 57, he created the "nervous system" of lithium-ion batteries—his crowning achievement being the lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) cathode material. Today, this groundbreaking material is found in nearly every portable electronic device on the market.

Another significant cathode material, lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), is also one of his key contributions. In 1997, the research team led by him reported the reversible lithium insertion and extraction properties of lithium iron phosphate. Today, lithium iron phosphate is recognized as the safest cathode material for lithium-ion batteries, as it contains no heavy metals harmful to human health. As the inventor of cathode materials such as lithium cobalt oxide and lithium iron phosphate, Goodenough has earned a stellar reputation in the field of lithium-ion batteries, rightfully earning him the title "the father of lithium-ion batteries."

This year, 97-year-old Mr. Goodenough published an article in Nature Electronics, looking back on the history of the invention of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and outlining the path forward for future development.

The research findings on cathode materials ultimately led Asahi Kasei Corporation of Nagoya, Japan, and Professor Akira Yoshino from Meijo University to develop the first rechargeable lithium-ion battery: featuring lithium cobalt oxide as the lithium-source cathode material, petroleum coke as the anode material, and a secondary lithium-ion battery using lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) dissolved in a mixture of propylene carbonate (PC) and ethylene carbonate (EC) as the electrolyte.

This battery was successfully integrated into Sony's earliest mobile phones and entered commercial production in 1991, marking the dawn of the lithium-ion battery era. In the days that followed, scientists around the world have been tirelessly testing and developing lithium-ion batteries that are even more efficient and safer.

References

[1] Armand, M.; Tarascon, J. M., Building Better Batteries. Nature 2008, 451 (7179), 652-657.

[2] Tarascon, J. M.; Armand, M., Issues and Challenges Facing Rechargeable Lithium Batteries. Nature 2001, 414 (6861), 359-367.

[3] Armand, M.; Murphy, D.; Broadhead, J., Materials for Advanced Batteries. 1980.

[4] Li Hong, Fundamental Scientific Issues in Lithium-Ion Batteries (XV) — Summary and Outlook. Energy Storage Science & Technology, 2015, 4 (3), 306-318.

[5] Nishi, Y., The development of lithium-ion secondary batteries. The Chemical Record 2001, 1 (5), 406-413.