DIFFERENTIAL SCANNING CALORIMETRY MATERIAL STUDIES - IMPLICATIONS FORTHE SAFETY OF LITHIUM-ION CELLS

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has been demonstrated to be a useful means of studying the reactivity of materials used in lithium-i on cells. In the present study, the reactivity of three most commonly used transition metal oxides, i.e. LixNiO2, LixCoO2, LixMn2O4, in the presence of electrolyte were investigated by DSC. The most commonly us ed negative electrode material, carbon (LixC6) was also studied. In th e paper, relative levels of reactivity of the materials as a function of stoichiometry are reported. The implications of the results on the safety of lithium-ion cells are discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S .A.