Review—Electrolyte and Electrode Designs for Enhanced Ion Transport Properties to Enable High Performance Lithium Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) are recognized as the most rapidly growing energy storage technology. To improve the energy and power density of LiBs, tremendous progress has been made in every battery component. In this review, we focus on the investigations of electrolyte and electrode designs aimed at understanding and enhancing ion transport properties to improve the performance of LiBs. Theoretical, computational, and experimental studies of the importance of transport properties are highlighted, and the efforts to enhance the lithium transference number in organic electrolytes is discussed. We also review the significant ion transport challenges in porous electrodes and the demonstrated examples of advanced, high power/energy density electrodes. Overall, we focus on the most recent and pioneering works in terms of complex electrolytes with high transport properties and thick porous electrodes for high performance LiBs. This review intends to provide guidance for development of advanced electrolytes and electrodes for high performance LiBs through comprehensive compilation of prior understanding via experimental, computational, and theoretical points of view.