Design and performance of 10 Wh rechargeable lithium batteries

New metal—carbon composite anodes were developed by a chemical deposition method of metal particles onto graphite powder. Silver—graphite composites consisted of ultrafine silver particles on a graphite surface, exhibiting a large specific volume capacity of 468–505 Ah/l which may be due to Li Ag alloy formation. The Ag—graphite anodes also showed excellent cycleability over 700 charge/discharge cycles with only 3% capacity loss. 10 Wh class rechargeable lithium batteries with energy densities of 270–300 Wh/l were manufactured using Ag—graphite anodes and cathodes of LiNiO2 or LiCoO2. Little capacity loss in these batteries was found even after 250 cycles because of the highly durable Ag—graphite anodes.