The lithium polymer battery is another novelty in the field of power supply for portable equipment. It is believed to be a more advanced model of the lithium-ion battery. However, this is not entirely true, and although the new generation is successfully replacing the widespread ion technology in some segments, in some respects Li-pol is inferior to its analogue.
Lithium polymer battery device
A lithium polymer battery uses a polymer material as the electrolyte. A battery of this type is used in digital technology, mobile phones, all kinds of gadgets, radio-controlled models, etc.
The impetus for improving lithium-ion batteries was the need to combat two of their shortcomings. First of all, they are unsafe to operate and, moreover, are rather uneconomical. The engineers decided to eliminate these disadvantages by changing the electrolyte.
As a result, a polymer electrolyte appeared. However, the polymer was previously known as a conductor. It has long been used in electrical engineering as a conductive plastic film. In modern development, the thickness of the lithium polymer cell reaches only 1 mm, which automatically eliminates the restrictions on the use by developers of various shapes and sizes.
However, the main thing in the new generation of the battery is the absence of a liquid electrolyte, due to this, the risk of ignition of the battery is eliminated. Thus, the problem of its security was eliminated. But in order to understand what are the main differences between Li-pol and lithium-ion batteries, you should take a closer look at the device of the basic model.
Li-ion battery device
The first models of serial lithium batteries appeared in the early 90s. However, cobalt and manganese were then used as the electrolyte. In modern Li-ion batteries, it is not so much the substance itself that is important as the configuration of its location in the block.
Lithium-ion batteries consist of electrodes that are separated by a pore separator. In turn, the mass of the separator is just impregnated with the electrolyte substance. As for the electrodes themselves, they are a cathode base on an aluminum foil with a copper anode.
Inside the block, the opposite-pole anode and cathode are connected to each other by current-collecting terminals. Charging provides a positive charge for the lithium ion. In this case, lithium is advantageous in that it has the ability to easily penetrate the crystal lattices of other substances, forming chemical bonds.
However, the positive qualities of lithium-ion batteries were increasingly not enough to perform tasks in modern gadgets. This is what led to the emergence of a new generation of Li-pol elements, which have many design and functional features.
In general, it is necessary to note the similarity of lithium-ion power supplies with full-size helium batteries for cars. In both cases, batteries are designed with practicality in mind. In part, this direction of development was continued by polymer-based elements.
Lithium polymer battery life
On average, lithium polymer batteries support approximately 800-900 charge cycles. This indicator can be considered very modest compared to other modern analogues. But this factor is not at all considered by experts as the determining resource of the element.
The fact is that the latest batteries are subject to active aging, regardless of the intensity of their use. That is, even if the power supply is not used at all, its resource will decrease over time. Moreover, this applies equally to both the lithium-ion battery and lithium-polymer cells.
All lithium-based batteries have a continuous aging process. A significant loss in the energy capacity of the battery can be seen within a year after purchasing the gadget. After 2-3 years, some power supplies are completely out of order. However, a lot here depends on the manufacturer, since within this segment there are differences in the quality of the battery.
In addition to problems with rapid aging, this type of battery needs an additional protection system. This is due to the fact that the internal voltage in different parts of the battery circuit can lead to burnout. Therefore, a special stabilization scheme was introduced here, preventing overcharging and overheating.
What is the main difference between a lithium polymer battery and an ion battery
The fundamental difference between Li-pol and Li-ion is the rejection of helium and liquid electrolytes. For a more accurate understanding of this difference, it is necessary to refer to modern car battery models. The need to replace the liquid electrolyte in this case was, of course, due to safety concerns.
But if in the case of car batteries, progress stopped at the same porous electrolytes with impregnation, then lithium-based models received a full-fledged solid base. Undoubtedly, a solid-state lithium polymer battery is a big advantage. Its difference from ionic is that the active substance in the form of a plate in the contact zone with lithium prevents the formation of dendrites during cycling.
This factor excludes the possibility of explosions and fires of such power sources. However, there are also weaknesses in the new batteries. This system entails a number of disadvantages.
The main one is current limitation. On the other hand, however, additional protective systems make the lithium polymer battery safer. The difference from an ionic battery in terms of cost is also an important factor. Polymer power supplies are cheaper, albeit only slightly. Their price tag still rises due to the installation of electronic protective circuits.
Which battery is better - Li-pol or Li-ion?
Deciding which battery of the presented models is better, to a greater extent, should be based on the planned operating conditions and the characteristics of the target power supply facility. The main advantages of polymer-based devices are more tangible for the manufacturers themselves, thanks to which they can more freely use new technologies. For the user, this difference in batteries will be subtle.
For example, in the question of how to charge a lithium-polymer battery, the owner of the gadget will have to pay more attention to the choice of a high-quality source of power supply. In terms of the duration of the charging process itself, both the one and the other power source will rather be identical elements.
As for the issue of durability, the situation in this indicator is also ambiguous. Of course, the aging effect is more characteristic of polymer-based elements, but in practice, owners observe a variety of situations. For example, there are frequent reviews of lithium-ion batteries, which turn out to be unusable already 1 year after purchase. And lithium-polymer batteries may well serve in some devices for 6-7 years, while being constantly in active use.
In order to increase electrical conductivity, engineers still add a gel-like electrolyte to polymer cells. However, the question of which battery to choose is not an acute issue in factories. Combined solutions are often used in places where temperature has a big impact. In such cases, polymer elements are usually used as backup power supplies, connecting them to the network as needed.
