polymer lithium battery R&D pioneer realizes dream of Nobel Prize

The lithium-ion battery technology that spanned several generations was finally awarded the Nobel Prize, and the efforts of three major R&D pioneers to "create a rechargeable world" were finally stamped and certified. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on October 9 that the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to John B. Goodenough and M. Stanley Whittingham, the founders of lithium-ion battery technology. and Akira Yoshino, among whom Goodenough, 97, became the oldest Nobel Prize winner to date.

The landmark contributions of the above three scientists have run through the entire development process of lithium-ion batteries from basic research to commercial applications. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement: "Their achievements have made a 'zero fossil fuel world' possible. This technology, which is used in many fields such as wireless electronics, electric vehicles, renewable energy and energy storage, is freeing mankind from We are heavily dependent on oil and gas and the dream of pursuing a green and low-carbon future has become a reality.”

"The originator of lithium batteries" pioneered

Whittingham, Goodenough and Akira Yoshino's research in the field of lithium-ion batteries is complementary and incremental. Whittingham used lithium titanium sulfide to create the first functional rechargeable lithium-ion battery model in the 1970s, becoming the "originator" of polymer lithium battery technology.

Whittingham was born in the United Kingdom in 1941. After receiving a doctorate from Oxford University, he went to Stanford University in the United States to study for a postdoctoral degree. He then worked for 16 years at Exxon Mobil, the largest oil company in the United States, and Schlumberger, the world's largest oil services company. While working at ExxonMobil, he developed the world's first lithium-ion battery model and currently serves as director of the Materials Research Institute and Materials Science and Engineering Program at the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Tracing his research and development process, it is not difficult to find that the first oil crisis that broke out in 1973 was a turning point in the development of battery technology. The international community realized the importance of energy security. How to get rid of heavy reliance on fossil fuels and seek alternative energy became the field of energy science at that time. mainstream. Therefore, Whittingham, who was the first to successfully use lithium metal, which is ultra-light, highly reactive and easily releases electrons, in battery anodes has received unprecedented attention.

Whittingham first proposed a new battery working principle - embedding, which laid the foundation for the successful commercialization of new lithium-ion batteries. "It's like putting jam in a sandwich, putting lithium ions in and out but still retaining the crystal structure," he said in an interview in 2015. That year, Whittingham had already won the Thomson Reuters Nobel Prize. A "guest" on the predicted list of winners.

As the smallest and lightest metal in the periodic table, lithium can be embedded in a small space and easily release electrons, unlike the large, bulky lead-acid batteries that dominated the 1970s. Whittingham will use lithium with these advantages Combined with titanium, which can capture the space of flowing electrons, the first-generation lithium-ion battery realized the charging and discharging process, but such a combination of materials could easily explode.

"Father of polymer lithium battery" breaks through bottleneck

The stability problem of lithium-ion batteries was finally successfully solved by Goodenough and his team. In 1980, Goodenough's team proposed the idea of using lithium cobalt oxide, replacing titanium with a relatively stable layered material, cobalt oxide, which solved the problem of lithium-ion batteries being prone to fire and explosion, while also doubling the capacity. From Whiting The Doom version's 2 volts were increased to 4 volts.

The breakthrough of this bottleneck gave Goodenough the title of "Father of polymer lithium battery". In fact, he has always been a popular candidate for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Although he had been running for it every year before, it did not affect his enthusiasm for scientific research. As a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, Goodenough rushes to the laboratory every day to personally lead students and guide the team.

Born in 1922, Goodenough was originally from Germany. His parents' divorce forced him to run away from home. He gritted his teeth and entered Yale University, his father's alma mater, in the United States. However, he changed his major many times. At first, he majored in classical literature, and later switched to philosophy. In order to study medicine, he also took chemistry as an elective. Before graduation, he was valued by a mathematics professor, and finally ended his studies at Yale with a bachelor's degree in mathematics.

When World War II broke out, he joined the army without hesitation. After retiring, he chose to study physics at the University of Chicago, and became classmates and close friends with Chen Ning Yang. I started studying for a Ph.D. at the age of 30, and was later recommended to MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory and received my first “electric shock”. In 1976, 54-year-old Goodenough got the position of director of the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory of Oxford University. Goodenough, who struggled to adapt to the local foggy weather, never imagined that he would usher in an important turning point in his life here - research. The field has completely shifted to batteries.

These paved the way for subsequent success. When Goodenough previously talked about the development of lithium-ion batteries, he said bluntly: "Parameters such as cost, safety, energy density, charge and discharge rate, cycle life, etc. are crucial to the popularization of electric vehicles. , I believe we will eventually solve many of the problems with existing batteries."

"polymer lithium battery promoters" aspire to dominate the market

The person who really promoted the commercialization of lithium-ion batteries was Akira Yoshino, the "polymer lithium battery promoter". After Goodenough's team broke through the unstable bottleneck of lithium-ion batteries, Akira Yoshino's team conducted research on "optimizing the performance of lithium-ion batteries and bringing them to the market" and developed the world's first commercially viable lithium-ion battery in 1985. Batteries thus kicked off the human mobile information revolution.

Akira Yoshino was born in Osaka, Japan on January 30, 1948. He graduated from Kyoto University Graduate School in 1972 with a major in engineering studies. He then entered Asahi Kasei, a comprehensive Japanese chemical group, and never left. In 1981, he officially became involved in the research and development of lithium-ion batteries. Akira Yoshino once said frankly: "Battery technology is a complex and difficult interdisciplinary subject that requires experts from many fields. In my opinion, lithium-ion batteries are the result of a collection of wisdom."

In 1985, after overcoming many technical obstacles, Akira Yoshino's team completely eliminated metallic lithium from the battery and changed the material at the anode end of the battery to a petroleum coke that allowed electrons to flow easily and safely between the two ends. It also does not react with surrounding materials and degrade them. This combination has the characteristics of high safety, small size, high energy density, and also extends the service life of the battery.

In 1991, Japan's Sony and Asahi Kasei cooperated, lithium-ion batteries were commercialized for the first time, and a new pattern of mobile electronics was born. Since then, lithium-ion batteries have gradually become an indispensable part of modern electronic technology and the sustainable energy economy. They are the "heart" of important products such as mobile phones, computers, electric vehicles, solar panels, and wind turbines.

Although lithium-ion batteries still have many problems, such as the mining method may not necessarily be environmentally friendly, and the world is more and more eager for lighter, smaller, faster charging and more environmentally friendly battery materials, it is undoubtedly a breakthrough in the pattern of fossil fuel power generation. key, especially as the world accelerates its efforts to combat the climate crisis and reduce pollution and emissions.

Olof Ramström, a member of the Nobel Committee, said: "Humanity is just the beginning in improving transportation and power supply methods to reduce the impact on the environment. Not only lithium-ion batteries, but more types of batteries will appear in the future. The advent of lithium-ion batteries has opened the door to The door to the zero oil and gas era.”

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