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Ionic potential for battery materials

Nature Reviews Materials (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Developing high-performance rechargeable batteries requires a revolutionary advancement in battery materials, guided by a fundamental understanding of their underlying science and mechanisms. However, this task remains a challenge owing to the complex relationship among composition, structure and property in electrode and electrolyte materials. Ionic potential, a concept derived from geochemistry, has been incorporated into battery materials research since 2020 as a methodology for predicting and optimizing their functional properties. Defined as the ratio of charge number of an ion to its ionic radius, ionic potential serves as a measure of the interaction strength within the structure of a material. In this Perspective, we explore the role of ionic potential in guiding the design of advanced materials for rechargeable batteries. Specifically, we discuss how integrating ionic potential into material design frameworks can capture critical structural interactions, thereby enabling improvements in properties such as ionic conductivity, redox activity and phase transition behaviours. Furthermore, we identify the broader relevance of ionic potential in battery systems, highlighting its potential in advancing fundamental understanding and performance capabilities in battery technology.

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Fig. 1: Ionic potential and its use in battery materials.
Fig. 2: Ionic potential for predicting the stacking structure of layered alkali-metal electrode materials.
Fig. 3: Ionic potential for predicting the close-packed anion sublattices of Li-ion halide electrolyte materials.
Fig. 4: Exploring new battery materials using ionic potential.
Fig. 5: Ionic potential for predicting the phase transition and redox behaviours of electrode materials.
Fig. 6: Extended application of ionic potential in batteries.

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Acknowledgements

The authors extend sincere gratitude to L. B. Railsback from the University of Georgia for granting permission to adapt his original figures in this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China

    Qidi Wang & Tianshou Zhao

  2. Key Laboratory for Renewable Energy, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Yong-Sheng Hu & Hong Li

  3. Shenzhen Key Lab of Energy Materials for Carbon Neutrality, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China

    Hui-Ming Cheng & Chenglong Zhao

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Wang, Q., Hu, YS., Li, H. et al. Ionic potential for battery materials. Nat Rev Mater (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-025-00822-1

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