Cell parts and chemistry
The parts of a battery cell and the materials around the one being studied.
- anode
The negative electrode of a cell.
- cathode
The positive electrode of a cell.
- coin cell
A small button-shaped test cell used in the lab.
- current collector
The metal foil, usually aluminium or copper, that carries current in and out of an electrode.
- EC/DMC Ethylene carbonate and dimethyl carbonate
A common solvent mixture used for the liquid electrolyte in lithium-ion cells.
- electrolyte
The liquid or gel between the electrodes that lets lithium ions move.
- half-cell
A test cell with one electrode of the material under test and lithium metal as the other, so the material can be measured on its own.
- LiPF6 Lithium hexafluorophosphate
The lithium salt most lithium-ion cells use in their liquid electrolyte.
- passivation
A thin protective layer forming on a metal surface that slows further corrosion.
- plateau
A flat stretch where the cell voltage hardly changes as it charges or discharges.
- pouch cell
A flat cell sealed in a soft foil pouch instead of a metal can.
- prismatic
A cell with a flat rectangular metal case.
- separator
A thin porous layer inside a cell that keeps the two electrodes apart while letting lithium ions through.