Lithium-ion button battery: small power, big world

Among many battery types, lithium-ion button batteries have become the preferred power source for many electronic devices due to their small size, light weight and superior performance. The development and application of this kind of battery is undoubtedly an important symbol of the progress of battery technology.

Lithium-ion button battery, its core lies in lithium-ion technology. Lithium-ion battery is a secondary battery that mainly relies on the movement of lithium ions between the positive and negative electrodes to work. During the charge and discharge process, lithium ions are deintercalated from the positive electrode and embedded in the negative electrode through the electrolyte. The negative electrode is in a lithium-rich state; the opposite is true during discharge. The biggest advantage of this type of battery is that it has high energy density and can provide power support for a longer period of time.

Although lithium-ion button batteries are ubiquitous in our daily lives, many people may not understand that the development history of lithium-ion batteries is actually not long. As early as 1912, lithium metal batteries were first proposed and studied by Gilbert N. Lewis. However, due to the very active chemical properties of lithium metal, the processing, storage, and use of lithium metal have very high environmental requirements, so lithium-ion batteries have not been used for a long time. It was not until the 1970s that M.S. Whittingham proposed and began to study lithium-ion batteries that this situation could change.

Today, lithium-ion batteries have become mainstream. It can be roughly divided into two categories: lithium metal batteries and lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries do not contain metallic lithium and are rechargeable. The fifth generation product of rechargeable batteries, lithium metal batteries, was born in 1996. Its safety, specific capacity, self-discharge rate and performance-price ratio are better than those of lithium-ion batteries. Due to its own high technical requirements, companies in only a few countries are currently producing such lithium metal batteries.

In our daily lives, many devices such as mobile phones, laptops, electric toothbrushes, and smart watches rely on lithium-ion button batteries. These batteries generally use materials containing lithium as electrodes and are representatives of modern high-performance batteries. However, real lithium-ion batteries are rarely used in daily electronic products due to their high risk.

Overall, lithium-ion button batteries are an indispensable part of our lives. This compact battery not only brings great convenience to our lives, but also promotes the advancement of battery technology. In the future, we look forward to seeing more advanced battery technologies bringing more possibilities to our lives.