Issues and Challenges of Rechargeable Lithium Batteries

In recent years, consumption of energy produced from fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gases has been increasing owing to growing urbanization and industrialization, worldwide. However, the usage of fossil fuels poses a serious risk due to a depletion in their reserves and the accompanying pollution caused by them, which threatens public health and causes global warming. Hence, there is a need to develop alternative eco-friendly renewable energy technologies including solar, wind, bio, hydropower energies and electrochemical energy conversion and storage systems like batteries and supercapacitors, to fulfill our basic needs. Among them, electrochemical energy conversion and storage systems are the best viable options for a wide variety of applications with attractive characteristics compared to solar and wind energies. Off the numerous rechargeable battery systems, rechargeable lithium batterries are promising candidates to meet an ever-increasing energy demand for a wide variety of applications in the technologically modernised world. Nevertheless, the instability of the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer and dendrite growth induces poor cycling performances and severe safety concerns during operation, which limits the commercialization potential of rechargeable lithium batteries for portable electronic devices and hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) applications. Therefore, this chapter presents a comprehensive overview of the lithium dendrite nucleation, growth and its patterns, SEI formation and volumetric changes of lithium-based rechargeable batteries. In addition to this, on the basis of previous reports, various strategies, to suppress the dendrite formation and growth for improving the safety and cyclic stability of rechargeable lithium-based batteries, have been reviewed and addressed in this chapter.