MINERALS AS A SOURCE OF NOVEL Li-ION BATTERY ELECTRODE MATERIALS

As a tribute to the major contribution made by Academician Gligor Jovanovski to the field of Mineralogy in Macedonia, this paper promotes the potential role that minerals can have as a future source of inspiration in identifying novel materials for sustainable energy storage in general, and for advanced Li-ion batteries in particular. We exemplify this by indicating the innovative use of polyanions in novel Li-ion battery cathode materials such as the olivine lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), and in an even newer material - the orthosilicate lithium iron silicate (Li2FeSiO4). Both materials have strong intrinsic links to mineralogy and - illustrate well how mineralogy can lead to new material breakthroughs in this and other areas of modern technology.