Reversible and High-Capacity Nanostructured Electrode Materials for Li-Ion Batteries

Reversible nanostructured electrode materials are at the center of research relating to rechargeable lithium batteries, which require high power, high capacity, and high safety. The higher capacities and higher rate capabilities for the nanostructured electrode materials than for the bulk counterparts can be attributed to the higher surface area, which reduces the overpotential and allows faster reaction kinetics at the electrode surface. These electrochemical enhancements can lead to versatile potential applications of the batteries and can provide breakthroughs for the currently limited power suppliers of mobile electronics. This Feature Article describes recent research advances on nanostructured cathode and anode materials, such as metals, metal oxides, metal phosphides; and LiCoO2, LiNi1-xMxO2 with zero-, one-, two-, and three-dimensional morphologies.