Electrochemical energy storage via batteries is proving essential in the fight against global warming, for energy security and, indeed, for the ecological transition. With the highest energy density, lithium-ion (Li-ion) models have become the technology of choice for electric mobility and grid applications. However, there is still room for improvement. Current research is focusing on the development of more thermodynamically stable electrolytes, the introduction of diagnostic and self-repair functions into batteries to extend their service life, and the discovery of new negative and positive electrode materials.
Having addressed the issues of electrolytes and diagnostics, the 2022 lectures will focus on insertion materials for positive electrodes and the relationship between structure and properties. It's not surprising that solid-state chemistry, the art of manipulating, mixing and assembling atoms to form structures with controlled structure and morphology, has played a central role in the development of Li-ion technology since the 1970s. This technology owes its existence to the discovery of Li insertion compounds.
This year's lectures will take us back in time, focusing on the sulfides and substituted lamellar oxides currently used in Li-ion batteries. We should recall that the pioneers of these materials, namely S. Whittingham and J. Goodenough, are the 2019 Nobel Prize laureates respectively. The recent emergence of Li-rich lamellar oxides, the seat of anionic redox activity, represents a paradigm shift in the development of new materials. This latter point will also be addressed from the angle of structural considerations and band structures, irrespective of the nature of the alkali ions (Li+, Na+). The effect of the dimensionality of electrode materials (2D to 3D transition) on insertion properties will also be addressed, via the study of compounds with spinel structures or polyanionic phases based on phosphates, borates, silicates or oxy-fluorides.
These lectures will be followed by seminars given by leading French solid state chemists (A. Demourgues, L. Cario, C. Serre and D. Portehault) and international experts (Y. Gogotsi, and S. Clarke).
