Current lithium-based batteries are based on intercalation—lithium ions squeeze into spaces within electrode materials such as graphite. As a result, most of the battery’s volume and bulk is dedicated to things that don’t contribute to carrying charges between the electrodes, which sets a limit on the sorts of energy densities that these technologies can reach.
As a result, a lot of research has gone into finding ways of getting rid of one these electrode materials. People have tried pairing lithium-metal electrodes with various materials, while other efforts have tried using electrodes where lithium reacts with air to form
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