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Lithium-Ion 18650 or 21700 Battery Prefixes (Chemistry) Chart: Decoding NCR, IMR, ICR, INR, IFR, and More
Key prefixes printed on 18650/21700 Lithium-ion batteries denote their cathode chemistry, which determines performance, safety, and applications. Below is a breakdown of common prefixes and their meanings:
Battery Prefixes Chemistry Chart
Prefix
Full Name
Chemistry
Key Traits
Common Uses
Safety
IMR
Lithium Manganese Rechargeable
LiMn₂O₄
High discharge (15–30A), stable
Power tools
Safer
ICR
Lithium Cobalt Rechargeable
LiCoO₂
High capacity, low discharge
Laptops,
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Apr 10th 2025
Panasonic, Sanyo, Sony, and Samsung DO NOT manufacture Button Top or Protected Button Top batteries
Understanding the Truth About Button Top and Protected Button Top Batteries
Important!
Panasonic, Sanyo, Sony, and Samsung DO NOT manufacture Button Top or Protected Button Top batteries. These reputable brands manufacture only Flat Top Unprotected bare cells. However, some auction sites and wholesalers are misleadingly advertising the following batteries:
Panasonic 18650 Button Top Battery
Panasonic 18650 Protected Button Top Battery
Sanyo 18650 Button Top Battery
Sanyo 18650 Protected B
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Jun 5th 2020
What is Li-ion (Lithium-ion) battery?
About Lithium-ion
In the world of Lithium Rechargeable Batteries, guides and descriptions below will come in handy and expand knowledge base and horizons for those wandering around and trying to navigate themselves through the vast number of abbreviations (e.g. li-ion, 18650, 26650, 14500 ...), and terms not familiar with — related to these unique and powerful Li-ion must haves, used in many high drain-low capacity, and low drain-high capacity applications.Lithium-ion Rechargeable Ba
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Apr 13th 2017