While buying a Smartphone, regular or a power bank with a logo printed on it or any other battery operated portable gadgets; people never forget to check the mAH of the battery. Have you ever seen if it is a lithium ion or lithium polymer battery? The answer is already known. No. Batteries of some gadgets have more life and offer better performance. On the other hand, some batteries cannot even keep your phone ticking for a day. Lithium polymer and Lithium ion are the most popular batteries for Smartphone, custom power bank, tablets and other portable gadgets.
Why Lithium?
Lithium is used in both types of batteries. The first reason is the weight. Lithium is the lightest metal. Plus, the electric potential of lithium is the highest among metals.
Lithium Ion Battery
The very first commercial lithium ion battery was released by Asahi Kasei and Sony in 1991. The energy density of Lion (lithium ion) battery is higher than that of Li Po (Lithium polymer) battery. Moreover, the lithium ion battery also costs less than Li Po battery. These batteries require no priming when used for the first time and the self discharge is also very low. However, aging is the problem when the battery is not in use.
Lithium Polymer Batteries
This battery makes use of solid polymer electrolyte. Li Po batteries are credit card thin. However, a lithium polymer battery can still hold a good battery life. Moreover, this battery weighs less than Lion battery and also offers more safety as compared to Lithium Ion battery. However, the manufacturing cost is pretty high and energy density is way less than that of the Lion battery.
Differences between Lithium Ion and Lithium Polymer Batteries
Type | Lithium ion battery | Lithium polymer battery |
Chemical Reaction | Varies and depend on electrolyte | Varies and depend on electrolyte |
Recommended for gadgets | Mobile computing devices and cellular phones | Mobile computing devices and cellular phones |
Operating Temperature | -20°C to 60°C | Performance improves at high and low temperatures |
Capacity | Varies | Varies but better than the Lithium Ion battery. |
Initial voltage | 3.6 & 7.2 | 3.6 & 7.2 |
Recharge life | 300 to 400 cycles for 100% | 300 to 400 cycles |
Discharge rate | Flat | Flat |
Charging temperature | 0°C to 60°C | 0°C to 60°C |
Storage life | Loses less than 0.1% per month | Loses less than 0.1% per month |
Storage temperature | -20°C to 60°C | -20°C to 60°C |
Disposal | Recyclable | Recyclable |