Materials advances for better Li(Na)-ion batteries : any interest to physicists ?

Jean Marie Tarascon (Collège de France) — June 9, 2016

Rechargeable lithium ion batteries, because of their high energy density, have conquered most of today’s portable electronics and they stand as serious contenders for EV’s and grid applications. Therefore, for this to happen, materials with higher energy densities while being sustainable, scalable, reliable and low cost must be developed. The challenges for chemists are enormous and this calls for new materials, new chemistries and new concepts. These different aspects will be addressed through this presentation while showing the physics these compounds may exhibit.
Firstly, the strategy towards the design of novel high voltage polyanionic compounds will be described and their magnetic properties presented. Turning to new concepts, we will show how the discovery of a reversible Li-driven anionic redox process among Li-rich layered oxides represents a transformational approach for creating advanced energy electrode materials while bringing back to the scene ligand holes issues in solids ; a fertile ground for superconductivity. Lastly, concerning sustainability, our new findings regarding Na-ion chemistry which enlists novel materials design will be shared as well.

Biography :
Jean-Marie Tarascon is Professor at the College de France holding the chair “Chemistry of solids – Energy. But much of his early career was spent in the United States where he developed (1994) the plastic Li-ion technology. Back to France in 1995, he created the European network of excellence ALISTORE-ERI of which he was head until 2010 when he took over the direction of the new LABEX “STORE-EX” . In 2011 he became in charge of the recently created French network on electrochemical energy storage (RS2E). The general scheme of his research focuses on the synthesis, characterization, and determination of structure/property relationships of electronic, superconductor and rechargeable battery materials for solid state electronic devices. Presently his activities are more devoted to Li-ion, Na-ion batteries and other chemistries with emphasis on developing new eco-efficient synthesis processes and developing novel reactivity concepts. He is the author of more than 600 scientific papers, and detains about 80 patents.

You can also watch this video on the multimedia site ENS : savoirs.ens.fr