Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Battery Chemistries... The Main Types
What are the different battery types? What are the chemistries?
The 3 main different types of batteries or battery chemistries. Lithium Ion, Nickel Metal Hydride and Nickel Cadmium.
Lithium Ion(Li-Ion)
Lithium Ion batteries use Lithium Oxide and a Carbon compound, usually Graphite as the electrodes. These are separated by a microporous film containing an organic solvent as the electrolyte. Compared to NiCd and NiMH batteries, Li-Ion batteries provide the same capacity inspite of being smaller and lighter. Li-Ion batteries have a higher power to weight ratio. These batteries do not suffer from the dreaded "memory effect", that affects NiCd batteries. Li-Ion also has a much lower levels of self-discharging. These tend to be comparatively more expensive due to higher production costs.
Nickel Metal Hydride(NiMH)
This battery uses Nickel and other rare earth metals as its electrodes and Potassium Hydroxide as the electrolyte. These are constructed from non-toxic metals making it environmentally friendly. These batteries do not suffer from the memory effect and has a higher capacity than NiCd batteries. However, the NiMH battery has a much shorter life span than NiCd and Li-Ion batteries.
Nickel Cadmium or Ni-Cad(NiCd)
This battery uses Nickel and Cadmium as its electrodes and aqueous Potassium Hydroxide as the electrolyte. It is an older type of battery, but is quick to charge and can handle higher loads. These batteries suffer from the "memory effect". Also due to the presence of heavy metals, they are environmentally unsafe and hazardous.
There are plenty of other types, but these have been the popular and easier to manufacture. The latest type is Lithium-Ion Polymer or Lithium Polymer Ion batteries. These are pretty much the same as Lithium Ion, but uses a polymer as the electrolyte. It is like a very thin plastic film. This dry ploymer design allows the battery to be lighter, smaller and the fabrication cheaper. It also has extremely good power-to-weight ratio.
The 3 main different types of batteries or battery chemistries. Lithium Ion, Nickel Metal Hydride and Nickel Cadmium.
Lithium Ion(Li-Ion)
Lithium Ion batteries use Lithium Oxide and a Carbon compound, usually Graphite as the electrodes. These are separated by a microporous film containing an organic solvent as the electrolyte. Compared to NiCd and NiMH batteries, Li-Ion batteries provide the same capacity inspite of being smaller and lighter. Li-Ion batteries have a higher power to weight ratio. These batteries do not suffer from the dreaded "memory effect", that affects NiCd batteries. Li-Ion also has a much lower levels of self-discharging. These tend to be comparatively more expensive due to higher production costs.
Nickel Metal Hydride(NiMH)
This battery uses Nickel and other rare earth metals as its electrodes and Potassium Hydroxide as the electrolyte. These are constructed from non-toxic metals making it environmentally friendly. These batteries do not suffer from the memory effect and has a higher capacity than NiCd batteries. However, the NiMH battery has a much shorter life span than NiCd and Li-Ion batteries.
Nickel Cadmium or Ni-Cad(NiCd)
This battery uses Nickel and Cadmium as its electrodes and aqueous Potassium Hydroxide as the electrolyte. It is an older type of battery, but is quick to charge and can handle higher loads. These batteries suffer from the "memory effect". Also due to the presence of heavy metals, they are environmentally unsafe and hazardous.
There are plenty of other types, but these have been the popular and easier to manufacture. The latest type is Lithium-Ion Polymer or Lithium Polymer Ion batteries. These are pretty much the same as Lithium Ion, but uses a polymer as the electrolyte. It is like a very thin plastic film. This dry ploymer design allows the battery to be lighter, smaller and the fabrication cheaper. It also has extremely good power-to-weight ratio.
