The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019 has been jointly awarded to
- John B. Goodenough, The University of Texas at Austin, USA,
- M. Stanley Whittingham, Binghamton University, State University of New York, USA, and
- Akira Yoshino, Asahi Kasei Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, and Meijo University, Nagoya, Japan
“for the development of lithium-ion batteries.”
In the 1970s, Stanley Whittingham created a cathode in a lithium battery made from titanium disulfide. The anode was partially made from metallic lithium. This made the battery too explosive to be viable. In 1980, John Goodenough demonstrated that cobalt oxide with intercalated lithium ions can produce as much as four volts. In 1985, Akira Yoshino created the first commercially viable lithium-ion battery. He used petroleum coke, a carbon material that, like the cathode’s cobalt oxide, can intercalate lithium ions as an anode. This resulted in a lightweight, hardwearing battery that could be charged hundreds of times.
Since they first entered the market in 1991, lithium-ion batteries have revolutionized our lives. They are used in mobile phones, laptops, electric vehicles, etc. Lithium-ion batteries can also store significant amounts of energy from solar and wind power, making a fossil fuel-free society possible.
John B. Goodenough, born in 1922 in Jena, Germany, studied mathematics at Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA, and physics at the University of Chicago, IL, USA, where he received his Ph.D. in 1952. He then joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA. Goodenough became Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Oxford, UK, in 1976. Since 1986, he has been a Professor at The University of Texas at Austin in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering.
Among many other honors, John B. Goodenough has received the Japan Prize in 2001, the National Medal of Science in 2011, the Benjamin Franklin Award in Chemistry in 2018, and the Copley Medal from the Royal Society in 2019. He is a Fellow of the Electrochemistry Society and a Fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Inventors. The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) grants a John B Goodenough Award in his honor. He is the oldest Nobel Laureate ever awarded the prize.
M. Stanley Whittingham, born in 1941 in, Nottingham, UK, studied chemistry at Oxford University, where he received his doctoral degree in 1968. He then performed postdoctoral research at Stanford University, Ca, USA. He then worked for Exxon Research & Engineering Company and for Schlumberger Limited. He joining Binghamton University in 1988 as Professor of Chemistry and today serves there as Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering.
Among many other honors, M. Stanley Whittingham has received the Young Author Award from The Electrochemical Society in 1971, the Battery Research Award in 2004, the IBA Yeager Award for Lifetime Contribution to Lithium Battery Materials Research in 2012. He is a Fellow of the Materials Research Society and a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.
Akira Yoshino, born in 1948 in Suita, Japan, studied engineering at Kyoto University, Japan, and obtained his Ph.D. in engineering from Osaka University, Japan. Starting in 1972, he worked at Asahi Kasei Corporation, first in the Kawasaki Laboratory developing Li-ion batteries, then as Manager in the ion-battery business. Since 2003, he is a Fellow at Asahi Kasei and since 2005, he serves as General Manager of the corporation’s Yoshino Laboratory. Since 2017, he also is Professor at the Graduate School of Science and Technology of Meijo University.
Among other honors, Akira Yoshino has received the Battery Division Technology Award from The Electrochemical Society in 1999, the IEEE Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies in 2012, the Japan Prize in 2018, and the European Inventor Award in 2019.
Selected Publications by John B. Goodenough
- LixCoO2: A new cathode material for batteries of high energy density,
K. Mizushima, P. C. Jones, P. J. Wiseman, J. B. Goodenough,
Materials Research Bulletin 1980, 15(6), 783–789.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-5408(80)90012-4 - Conducting-Polymer/Iron-Redox- Couple Composite Cathodes for Lithium Secondary Batteries,
K.-S. Park, S. B. Schougaard, J. B. Goodenough,
Advanced Materials 2007, 19, 848–851.
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.200600369 - Challenges for Rechargeable Li Batteries,
John B. Goodenough, Youngsik Kim,
Chemistry of Materials 2010, 22, 587–603.
https://doi.org/10.1021/cm901452z - The Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery: A Perspective,
John B. Goodenough, Kyu-Sung Park,
Journal of the American Chemical Society 2013, 135, 1167–1176.
https://doi.org/10.1021/ja3091438 - A Superior Low-Cost Cathode for a Na-Ion Battery,
Long Wang, Yuhao Lu, Jue Liu, Maowen Xu, Jinguang Cheng, Dawei Zhang, John B. Goodenough,
Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2013, 52, 1964–1967.
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201206854
Selected Publications by M. Stanley Whittingham
- Electrointercalation in Transition-Metal Disulphides,
M. S. Whittingham,
J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun. 1974, 328–329.
https://doi.org/10.1039/C39740000328 - Electrical Energy Storage and Intercalation Chemistry,
M. S. Whittingham,
Science 1976, 192 (4244), 1126–1127.
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.192.4244.1126 - Lithium Batteries and Cathode Materials,
M. Stanley Whittingham,
Chemical Reviews 2004, 104, 4271–4302.
https://doi.org/10.1021/cr020731c - High-Performance LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 Spinel Controlled by Mn3+ Concentration and Site Disorder,
Jie Xiao, Xilin Chen, Peter V. Sushko, Maria L. Sushko, Libor Kovarik, Jijun Feng, Zhiqun Deng, Jianming Zheng, Gordon L. Graff, Zimin Nie, Daiwon Choi, Jun Liu, Ji-Guang Zhang, M. Stanley Whittingham,
Advanced Materials 2012, 24, 2109–2116.
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201104767
Selected Publications by Akira Yoshino
- A. Yoshino, K. Sanechika, T. Nakajima, リチウムイオン電池 (Lithium-ion-battery), Japanese patent no. 1989293, 1985.
- A. Yoshino, K. Sanechika, T. Nakajima, Secondary Battery, US patent no. 4,668,595, 1985.
- The Birth of the Lithium-Ion Battery,
Akira Yoshino,
Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2012, 51, 5798–5800.
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201105006
Also of Interest
- Chemistry Nobel Prize Quiz,
ChemViews Mag. 2019.
How much do you know about the Nobel Prize Laureates? - Nobel Prize in Physics 2019,
ChemViews Mag. 2019.
The prize was awarded with one half to J. Peebles, USA, and the other half jointly to M. Mayor, Switzerland, and D. Queloz, UK - Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2019,
ChemViews Mag. 2019.
The prize was awarded jointly to William G. Kaelin Jr., Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe, and Gregg L. Semenza for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability - Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018,
ChemViews Mag. 2018.
The prize was awarded to Frances H. Arnold, George P. Smith, and Sir Gregory P. Winter for their work on directed evolution - Author Profile: John B. Goodenough,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2019.
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201806891 - The Nobel Prize,
Veronika Belusa,
ChemViews Mag. 2015.
Collection of information on the Nobel Prize - Clever Picture: Diesel or Electric Car?,
ChemViews Mag. 2019.
https://doi.org/10.1002/chemv.201900066
Climate effects of electric cars over their entire life cycle compared with greenhouse gas emissions from petrol and diesel vehicles and how lithium-ion batteries work
