Lithium ion battery and its safety are taken more consideration with fossil energy consuming and the
reductionrequirementofCO2 emission.Thesafetyproblemoflithiumionbatteryismainlycontributedby
thermal runaway caused fire and explosion. This paper reviews the lithium ion battery hazards, thermal
runaway theory, basic reactions, thermal models, simulations and experimental works firstly. The general
theory is proposed and detailed reactions are summarized, which include solid electrolyte interface
decomposition, negative active material and electrolyte reaction, positive active material and electrolyte
reaction, electrolyte decomposition, negative active material and binder reaction, and so on. The thermal
models or electrochemical–thermal models include one, two and three dimensional models, which can
be simulated by finite element method and finite volume method. And then the related prevention
techniques are simply summarized and discussed on the inherent safety methods and safety device
methods. Some perspectives and outlooks on safety enhancement for lithium ion battery are proposed
for the future development.
© 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved