@Ghost.of.Fast.Tech
You are not harsh on me, not at all.
You seem to know a lot about lithium batteries, please educate me.
In how many ways can a lithium battery be overcharged ?
Yes, there are more than one way and many peoples get that part a bit wrong, maybe i am one of them...
Hint: Constant Current / Constant Voltage / phase 1 and phase 2 of the charging process.
What happen , in the second phase of the charging process, if you increase the charging voltage above the recommended CV ?
What would you call that ?
Me, i call that first and second phase overcharging.
What exactly is causing the lithium plating on the anode ?
Please don't tell me "overcharging" because batteries can technically be overcharged in more than one way, and there is only one reason for the plating.
What is the difference between normal and trickle charging ?
Yes, there is a big difference.
What are the result and effect induce by the lithium plating of the anode ?
When is the plating become a serious problem ?
Why lithium batteries lose capacity when aging, at every cycles, even during "normal" charge/discharge ?
Because there are less and less free lithium ions at each cycle, but where did they go and how does it affect the batteries charge/discharge capabilities ?
Why some manufacturers are only stating the C rating instead of amps for their batteries ?
What does C mean and why is it more important than mA ?
Random chinese names batteries are not the problem.
The real problem is how peoples charge/discharge them.
Unknown batteries should always be capacity tested first, at very low CC (Constant Current) discharge/charge, to determine theirs amps capability before using them in a real application.
The capacity of a battery tell at what CC to charge it, and how many amps can safely be draw out of it.
Never assume you can go above 1C discharge with those batteries and the charging CC should be keept below 0.7C.
What do you think would happend if you charge a 280mAh lithium battery with a charging CC of 1000mA if the battery can only safely do 0.7C ?
How would you call that ?
Me, i call that first phase overcharging...
That is the answers for the above questions.
Over-Voltage
If the charging voltage is increased beyond the recommended upper cell voltage, typically 4.2 Volts, excessive current flows giving rise to two problems.
-Lithium Plating
With excessive currents the Lithium ions can not be accommodated quickly enough between the intercalation layers of the anode and Lithium ions accumulate on the surface of the anode where they are deposited as metallic Lithium. This is known as Lithium plating. The consequence is a reduction in the free Lithium ions and hence an irreversible capacity loss and since the plating is not necessarily homogeneous, but dendritic in form, it can ultimately result in a short circuit between the electrodes. Lithium plating can also be caused by low temperature operation.
Overheating
-Excessive current also causes increased Joule heating of the cell, accompanied by an increase in temperature. See next section below.
It does'nt mean charging pass 4.35V is safe, even tho trickle charging is a bit far from excessive current, it still can not be considered safe.
The lithium plating might not be as much with trickle charge but it is still producing more than during a normal charge.
Edited on 3/4/2015 at 2:42 PM. Reason: