Physics of electron and lithium-ion transport in electrode materials for Li-ion batteries

The physics of ionic and electrical conduction at electrode materials of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are briefly summarized here, besides, we review the current research on ionic and electrical conduction in electrode material incorporating experimental and simulation studies. Commercial LIBs have been widely used in portable electronic devices and are now developed for large-scale applications in hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and stationary distributed power stations. However, due to the physical limits of the materials, the overall performance of today's LIBs does not meet all the requirements for future applications, and the transport problem has been one of the main barriers to further improvement. The electron and Li-ion transport behaviors are important in determining the rate capacity of LIBs. (topical review)