Lithium rechargeable batteries for portable telecommunication appliances-basic concepts and recent developments

After the successful introduction of various lithium anode primary batteries in the 1970s, many efforts had to be made to obtain a safe and reliable rechargeable lithium anode. The lithium ion concept was the first to be transferred into series and mass production and to be used in big volumes for small electronic devices. The polymer electrolyte battery seems to be the next step in this field of electrochemical powering systems which strongly depend on their electronic controls. This paper describes the rechargeability of lithium anodes, the lithium-ion or rocking-chair concept, carbonaceous materials for lithium ion batteries, and lithium ion polymer electrolyte batteries. Spongy and gellified electrolytes as well as battery safety and performance are also discussed.