Safety and Quality Issues of Counterfeit Lithium-Ion Cells

Abstract

Lithium-ion batteries continue to transform consumer electronics, mobility, and energy storage sectors, and the applications and demands for batteries keep growing. Supply limitations and costs may lead to counterfeit cells in the supply chain that could affect quality, safety, and reliability of batteries. Our research included studies of counterfeit and low-quality lithium-ion cells, and our observations on the differences between these and original ones, as well as the significant safety implications, are discussed. The counterfeit cells did not include internal protective devices such as the positive temperature coefficient or current interrupt devices that typically offer protection against external short circuits and overcharge conditions, respectively, in cells from original manufacturers. Poor-quality materials and lack of engineering knowledge were also evident on analyses of the electrodes and separators from low-quality manufacturers. When the low-quality cells were subjected to off-nominal conditions, they experienced high temperature, electrolyte leakage, thermal runaway, and fire. In contrast, the authentic lithium-ion cells performed as expected. Recommendations are provided to identify and avoid counterfeit and low-quality lithium-ion cells and batteries.

Lithium Sulfite Enhances Cycle Performance of All-Solid-State Batteries with Li2S-Based Positive Electrode Materials

“…Lithium-ion batteries are in high demand worldwide owing to the development of electric vehicles. However, there are safety concerns regarding the flammable nature of the liquid electrolytes. − As an attractive solution to this problem, all-solid-state batteries, which use flame-retardant solid electrolytes, offer excellent safety and a high energy density. To realize all-solid-state batteries that surpass the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, positive and negative electrodes are being actively developed. − In particular, all-solid-state lithium–sulfur (Li/S) batteries that utilize lithium and sulfur as active materials in the electrodes are attractive post lithium-ion batteries owing to their high energy density and low cost as well as the low toxicity of sulfur. − …”

Enhancing organic cathodes of aqueous zinc-ion batteries via utilizing steric hindrance and electron cloud equalization

“…As the most widely used electrochemical energy storage systems at present, the inherent safety and environment issues of lithium-ion batteries are the primary concerns in their practical applications. [1][2][3] Among the alternative batteries beyond lithium, aqueous zinc (Zn) batteries have shown great potential for future safe energy storage applications due to the intrinsic advantages of Zn, [4][5][6] including high theoretical specic capacity (820 mA h g −1 ), low redox potential (−0.76 V vs. SHE), and good compatibility with water. 7,8 However, the bottleneck that limits the practical applications of Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) is the lack of suitable cathode materials with simultaneously high specic capacity and stability aer extended cycling.…”