2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Lithium-Ion Batteries

The Nobel Prize, a prestigious award given to honor those who serve humanity based on Alfred Nobel's will, was first awarded in 1901. Each passing day brings invaluable developments and innovations in the world of science for human history. And they all share a common purpose: "Service to Humanity." From 1901 to the present day, many scientists have made important discoveries in various fields of science. Now, for 2019 I have compiled for you 3 scientists deserving of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and their work… Akira Yoshino, M. Stanley Whittingham and John B. Goodenough were awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of ion batteries.

Akira Yoshino

Akira Yoshino was born in Japan on 30 January 1948. After completing his education at Kyoto University in petrochemistry and electrochemistry, he began working at chemical company Asahi Kasei in 1972. In 1982 he continued his work at Kawasaki Laboratory. Yoshino began working on rechargeable batteries in 1981. In 1983 he developed a prototype rechargeable lithium-ion battery using polyacetylene and obtained a patent for it. At the same time, Akira Yoshino is the inventor of the lithium-ion battery used in our computers and mobile phones.

M. Stanley Whittingham

M. Stanley Whittingham was born in the United Kingdom in 1941. After completing his university education at Oxford, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University until 1972.   He then worked at Exxon Research & Engineering Company until 1984. After working as a professor at Binghamton University, he served for six years as Vice President of the New York State University Research Foundation. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering at Binghamton University. M. Stanley Whittingham discovered the concept of intercalation electrodes. Thus he took an important step in the development of lithium batteries. John B. Goodenough Originally American, John B. Goodenough was born in Germany in 1922. He graduated with honors from Yale University in 1944. He completed his master's degree and doctorate at the University of Chicago with distinction in 1951-1952. During the Second World War, Goodenough served as a meteorologist in the U.S. Army, calculating flight times for aircraft traveling from the United States across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe. Subsequently, John B. Goodenough, who held positions at respected universities around the world, conducted research on the development of commercial lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. M. Stanley Whittingham and John B. Goodenough further developed the capacity of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that they had previously created, doubling it. By 2001, Akira Yoshino carried out additional work in battery manufacturing, completely removing pure lithium from batteries and making batteries operate solely on lithium ions. So what was the importance of this invention? Thanks to this invention, batteries were used more widely and efficiently in everyday life. Three scientists who worked on lithium-ion batteries for such a long time deserved to win the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

We can briefly say the following about lithium ion batteries;

• After lithium ion batteries were first launched on the market in 1991, it was a veritable revolution in the electronics industry. • Mobile phones became smaller, and computers became portable. • MP3 players and tablets began to enter the market. Nowadays, thanks to lithium batteries, we use electric vehicles, mobile phones, tablets and laptops as energy sources while at the same time helping to protect the environment. Prepared by: Çağla Köksal