The increasing demand and expanding applications of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) impose bigger requirements in terms of battery metrics. As a result, there has been a huge effort to develop the next-generation energy storage systems that possess high energy density, high cyclability, low cost, and increased safety. This work combines the benefits of silicon (Si) anode with very high theoretical capacity and ionic liquids (IL) with unique physicochemical properties, to achieve high energy density and safe LIBs. Electrochemical studies were carried out to investigate the performance of Si in highly concentrated IL electrolytes, which has hardly been investigated in the past. In conjunction with electrochemical cycling, interfacial studies were also carried out to investigate the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and near-electrode structures. The cycling data revealed that the nature and structure of the IL and the electrolyte salt content greatly influence the electrochemical behaviour of the Si anode, favoring the use of phosphonium-based IL and highly concentrated electrolytes. Ex situ surface characterization provided evidence of a more efficient SEI for the said systems. The investigation of near-electrode structuring of the IL components also gave insight into their decomposition pathway, pointing to the higher susceptibility of dilute systems and pyrrolidinium-based electrolytes to degradation. The performance of Si in the IL electrolytes was also successfully demonstrated in full-cell configuration, showing their feasibility for practical use. Finally, solid-state electrolytes were prepared to create allsolid and safe batteries, but further research is necessary to achieve successful cycling.

The series covers the fundamentals and applications of different smart material systems from renowned international experts.

Silicon Anode Systems for Lithium-Ion Batteries is an introduction to silicon anodes as an alternative to traditional graphite-based anodes. The book provides a comprehensive overview including abundance, system voltage, and capacity. It provides key insights into the basic challenges faced by the materials system such as new configurations and concepts for overcoming the expansion and contraction related problems. This book has been written for the practitioner, researcher or developer of commercial technologies. - Provides a thorough explanation of the advantages, challenge, materials science, and commercial prospects of silicon and related anode materials for lithium-ion batteries - Provides insights into practical issues including processing and performance of advanced Si-based materials in battery-relevant materials systems - Discusses suppressants in electrolytes to minimize adverse effects of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation and safety limitations associated with this technology

The eight chapters in this book cover topics on advanced anode and cathode materials, materials design, materials screening, electrode architectures, diagnostics and materials characterization, and electrode/electrolyte interface characterization for lithium batteries. All these topics were carefully chosen to reflect the most recent advances in the science and technology of rechargeable Li-ion batteries, to provide wide readership with a platform of subjects that will help in the understanding of current technologies, and to shed light on areas of deficiency and to energize prospects for future advances.

​The series Topics in Current Chemistry Collections presents critical reviews from the journal Topics in Current Chemistry organized in topical volumes. The scope of coverage is all areas of chemical science including the interfaces with related disciplines such as biology, medicine and materials science. The goal of each thematic volume is to give the non-specialist reader, whether in academia or industry, a comprehensive insight into an area where new research is emerging which is of interest to a larger scientific audience. Each review within the volume critically surveys one aspect of that topic and places it within the context of the volume as a whole. The most significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years are presented using selected examples to illustrate the principles discussed. The coverage is not intended to be an exhaustive summary of the field or include large quantities of data, but should rather be conceptual, concentrating on the methodological thinking that will allow the non-specialist reader to understand the information presented. Contributions also offer an outlook on potential future developments in the field. The chapters “Ionic Liquid–Liquid Chromatography: A New General Purpose Separation Methodology”, “Proteins in Ionic Liquids: Current Status of Experiments and Simulations”, “Lewis Acidic Ionic Liquids” and "Quantum Chemical Modeling of Hydrogen Bonding in Ionic Liquids" are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This book serves as a comprehensive treatment of the advanced microscopic properties of lithium- and sodium-based batteries. It focuses on the development of the quasiparticle framework and the successful syntheses of cathode/electrolyte/anode materials in these batteries. FEATURES Highlights lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries as well as lithium sulfur-, aluminum-, and iron-related batteries Describes advanced battery materials and their fundamental properties Addresses challenges to improving battery performance Develops theoretical predictions and experimental observations under a unified quasiparticle framework Targets core issues such as stability and efficiencies Lithium-Related Batteries: Advances and Challenges will appeal to researchers and advanced students working in battery development, including those in the fields of materials, chemical, and energy engineering.

This book contains some of the papers presented at the ACS meeting symposium Ionic Liquids: Science and Applications, held at the 243rd National ACS meeting.

The Li-ion battery market is growing fast due to its ever increasing number of applications, from electric vehicles to portable devices. These devices are in demand due to safety reasons, energy efficiency, high power density and long life duration, which drive the need for more efficient electrochemical energy storage systems. The aim of this book is to provide the challenges and perspectives for Li-ion batteries (chapters 1 and 2), at the negative electrode as well as at the positive electrode, and for technologies beyond the Li-ion with the emerging Na-ion batteries and multivalent (Mg, Al, Ca, etc) systems (chapters 4 and 5). The aim is also to alert on the necessity to develop the recycling methods of the millions of produced batteries which are going to further flood our societies (chapter 3), and also to continuously increase the safety of the energy storage systems. For the latter challenge, it is interesting to seriously consider polymer electrolytes and batteries as an alternative (chapter 6).This book will take readers inside recent breakthroughs made in the electrochemical energy systems. It is a collaborative work of experts from the most known teams in the batteries field in Europe and beyond, from academics as well as from manufacturers.

The main motivation for the organization of the Advanced Research Workshop in Belgirate was the promotion of discussions on the most recent issues and the future perspectives in the field of Solid State lonics. The location was chosen on purpose since Belgirate was the place were twenty years ago, also then under the sponsorship of NATO, the very first international meeting on this important and interdisciplinary field took place. That meeting was named "Fast Ion Transport in Solids" and gathered virtually everybody at that time having been active in any aspect of motion of ions in solids. The original Belgirate Meeting made for the first time visible the technological potential related to the phenomenon of the fast ionic transport in solids and, accordingly, the field was given the name "Solid State lonics". This field is now expanded to cover a wide range of technologies which includes chemical sensors for environmental and process control, electrochromic windows, mirrors and displays, fuel cells, high performance rechargeable batteries for stationary applications and electrotraction, chemotronics, semiconductor ionics, water electrolysis cells for hydrogen economy and other applications. The main idea for holding an anniversary meeting was that of discussing the most recent issues and the future perspectives of Solid State lonics just twenty years after it has started at the same location on the lake Maggiore in North Italy.