How the lithium ion battery works

How does a lithium ion battery store energy?

A lithium-ion battery stores energy through a chemical reaction that occurs between its two electrodes: a positive electrode, called the cathode, and a negative electrode, called the anode. During charging, lithium ions move from the cathode to the anode through an electrolyte, which is a conductive solution.

How does a lithium battery work?

When the battery is discharging, the lithium ions move back across the electrolyte to the positive electrode, producing the energy that powers the battery. In both cases, electrons flow in the opposite direction to the ions around the outer circuit.

How does ion flow in a lithium-ion battery work?

Figure 1: Ion flow in lithium-ion battery. When the cell charges and discharges, ions shuttle between cathode (positive electrode) and anode (negative electrode). On discharge, the anode undergoes oxidation, or loss of electrons, and the cathode sees a reduction, or a gain of electrons. Charge reverses the movement.

How does recharging a lithium ion battery work?

Here is the full reaction (left to right = discharging, right to left = charging): LiC 6 + CoO 2 ⇄ C 6 + LiCoO 2 How does recharging a lithium-ion battery work? When the lithium-ion battery in your mobile phone is powering it, positively charged lithium ions (Li+) move from the negative anode to the positive cathode.

What happens in a lithium-ion battery when charging?

What happens in a lithium-ion battery when charging (© 2019 Let’s Talk Science based on an image by ser_igor via iStockphoto). When the battery is charging, the lithium ions flow from the cathode to the anode, and the electrons move from the anode to the cathode.

What is a lithium ion battery?

A lithium-ion battery, also known as the Li-ion battery, is a type of secondary (rechargeable) battery composed of cells in which lithium ions move from the anode through an electrolyte to the cathode during discharge and back when charging.