What Is the Difference between Lithium Polymer Batteries and Lithium Batteries?

The concept of lithium batteries is used very frequently, and with a little attention, we will find that there are actually three distinctions with this concept: broad, narrower and narrower.

Lithium batteries in the broad sense include lithium primary batteries and lithium ion batteries; as lithium ion batteries are more widely used than lithium primary batteries, so lithium batteries in the narrower sense usually refers to lithium ion batteries; within lithium ion batteries there are two classifications: polymer lithium ion batteries and liquid lithium ion batteries, because the greater quality and more applications are liquid lithium ion batteries, so the narrower understanding of lithium batteries refers to liquid lithium ion batteries, while polymer lithium ion batteries are also called lithium polymer batteries, people are used to be referred to as polymer batteries.

If the difference between lithium polymer batteries and lithium batteries is compared in a broad and narrower sense, then the only relationship is between the species concept and the genus concept, with lithium polymer batteries being included in lithium batteries.

Therefore, it is the comparison at the narrower level that is of significance: that is, the comparison between polymer batteries and liquid lithium ion batteries, and on this basis, lithium batteries are used below to refer to liquid lithium ion batteries.

1. The fundamental difference is the raw material

This is the total root of the various different performances of the two. Polymer battery means that at least one of the three major components, namely the positive electrode, negative electrode or electrolyte, uses polymer materials. Polymer means large molecular weight, and its corresponding concept is small molecules, polymer has high strength, high toughness and high elasticity. The polymer materials currently being developed for polymer batteries are mainly used for the cathode and electrolyte.

① Polymer battery cathode materials can be used in addition to inorganic compounds for lithium batteries, but also conductive polymer polymers.

② Polymer battery electrolyte has polymer electrolyte (solid or gel) and organic electrolyte, lithium batteries use electrolyte (liquid or colloid)

2. Shape difference

Polymer batteries can be thin, any area and any shape, the reason is that its electrolyte can be solid or colloidal rather than liquid, while lithium batteries use electrolyte and need a strong shell as a secondary packaging to accommodate the electrolyte. Therefore, this also makes the lithium battery increase part of the weight.

3. Safety aspects

Current polymers are mostly soft pack batteries, using aluminium laminated film as the shell, when the internal use of organic electrolyte, even if the liquid is very hot, it does not explode, because the aluminium-plastic film polymer battery using solid or gel state without leakage, only natural rupture. But nothing is absolute, if the momentary current is large enough to short-circuit, it is not impossible for the battery to spontaneously combust or burst, and most of the safety accidents of mobile phones and tablet computers are caused by this situation.

4. Cell voltage

As polymer batteries use polymer materials, can be made in the cell multi-layer combination to achieve high voltage, while the nominal voltage of lithium battery cells is 3.7V, to achieve high voltage in practice, it is necessary to connect multiple cells in series to form the ideal high-voltage working platform.

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