Science Daily August 29, 2023 The power capability of Li-ion batteries has become increasingly limiting for the electrification of transport on land and in the air. The specific power of Li-ion batteries is restricted due to the required cathode thickness of a few tens of micrometers. Researchers in Switzerland have developed a design of monolithically stacked thin-film cells that had the potential to increase the power ten-fold. They demonstrated an experimental proof-of-concept consisting of two monolithically stacked thin-film cells. Each cell consisted of a silicon anode, a solid-oxide electrolyte, and a lithium cobalt oxide cathode. The battery could be cycled […]
Category Archives: Battery technology
Move over lithium-ion: Zinc-air batteries a cheaper and safer alternative
Science Daily August 21, 2023 An international team of researchers (Australia, Saudi Arabia) has developed a nanocomposite based on ternary CoNiFe-layered double hydroxides (LDH) and cobalt coordinated and N-doped porous carbon (Co-N-C) network, obtained by the in-situ growth of LDH over the surface of ZIF-67-derived 3D porous network. Co-N-C network contributes to the oxygen reduction reaction activity, while CoNiFe-LDH imparts to the oxygen evolution reaction activity. The rich active sites and enhanced electronic and mass transport properties stemmed from their unique architecture, culminated into outstanding bi-functional catalytic activity towards oxygen evolution/reduction in alkaline media. In ZABs, it displays a high […]
Aluminum materials show promising performance for safer, cheaper, more powerful batteries
Science Daily July 19, 2023 Metal negative electrodes that alloy with lithium have high theoretical charge storage capacity and are ideal candidates for developing high-energy rechargeable batteries. However, such electrode materials show limited reversibility in Li-ion batteries with standard non-aqueous liquid electrolyte solutions. A team of researchers in the US (Georgia Institute of Technology, industry) used non-pre-lithiated aluminum-foil-based negative electrodes with engineered microstructures in an all-solid-state Li-ion cell configuration. When a 30-μm-thick Al94.5In5.5 negative electrode is combined with a Li6PS5Cl solid-state electrolyte and a LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2-based positive electrode, lab-scale cells delivered hundreds of stable cycles with practically relevant areal capacities at […]
Three-dimensional structure control technology enables high-performance fuel cells with higher stability
Nanowerk July 26, 2023 Over the past few decades, considerable advances have been achieved in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) based on the development of material technology. Recently, an emerging multiscale architecting technology covering nanometer, micrometer, and millimeter scales has been regarded as an alternative strategy to overcome the hindrance to achieving high-performance and reliable PEMFCs. In their review article researchers in South Korea provided summaries of progress in the key components of PEMFCs based on a novel architecture strategy. In the first section, diverse architectural methods for patterning the membrane surface with random, single-scale, and multiscale structures as […]
Next-generation flow battery design sets records
Science Daily July 10, 2023 Redox flow batteries have a unique architecture that potentially enables cost-effective long-duration energy storage to address the intermittency introduced by increased renewable integration for the decarbonization of the electric power sector. Targeted molecular engineering has demonstrated electrochemical reversibility in natively redox-inactive ketone molecules in aqueous electrolytes. However, the kinetics of fluorenone-based flow batteries continue to be limited by slow alcohol oxidation. A team of researchers in the US (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Yale University) showed how strategically designed proton regulators can accelerate alcohol oxidation and thus enhance battery kinetics. Fluorenone-based flow batteries with the organic […]
Towards efficient lithium–air batteries with solution plasma-based synthesis of perovskite hydroxide catalysts
Science Daily June 26, 2023 CoSn(OH)6 (CSO) is a perovskite-type hydroxide that is a promising catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). An international team of researchers (Japan, China, Thailand) synthesized and characterized CSO using a solution plasma process. Tests revealed that highly crystalline CSO could be synthesized by adjusting the pH of the precursor solution to more than 10 to 12. The synthesized CSO had a cubic shape, and its size was approximately 100 to 300 nm. The valences of Co and Sn in CSO were divalent and tetravalent, respectively. The catalytic properties were evaluated using an electrochemical method. […]
Calcium rechargeable battery with long cycle life
Science Daily May 23, 2023 As potential alternatives to Li-ion batteries, rechargeable Ca metal batteries offer advantageous features such as high energy density, cost-effectiveness, and natural elemental abundance. However, Ca metal passivation by electrolytes and a lack of cathode materials with efficient Ca2+ storage capabilities, impede the development of practical Ca metal batteries. To overcome these limitations, an international team of researchers (Japan, USA – Toyota Research Institute of North America) verified the applicability of a CuS cathode in Ca metal batteries and its electrochemical properties. Their results showed that a CuS cathode comprising nanoparticles that are well dispersed in […]
Researchers design battery prototype with fiber-shaped cathode
Science Daily April 24, 2023 In a proof-of-concept study, as a step forward in the development of a fiber-shaped battery that could be integrated into garments, an international team of researchers (USA- North Carolina State University, Thailand) created a yarn-shaped cathode. They utilized the unique properties of graphene to make a yarn-shaped zinc-ion battery. They created different manganese dioxide microparticles in various shapes and sizes and embedded them in fiber made of graphene oxide. They found the shape and size of the graphene oxide and manganese dioxide materials affected its electrochemical function. When the graphene and manganese dioxide were well-mixed, […]
Tiny biobattery with potential 100-year shelf life runs on bacteria
Phys.org April 12, 2023 Controllable microbial electrocatalytic activity in a miniaturized microbial fuel cells (MFCs) with unlimited biodegradable energy resources would enable simple power generation in various environmental settings. However, the short shelf-life of living biocatalysts, few ways to activate the stored biocatalysts, and extremely low electrocatalytic capabilities render the miniature MFCs unsuitable for practical use. Researchers at State University of New York at Binghamton used heat-activated Bacillus subtilis spores as a dormant biocatalyst that could survive storage and rapidly germinate when exposed to special nutrients that are preloaded in the device. A microporous, graphene hydrogel allowed the adsorption of […]
Tiny movements, deep inside a battery
Nanowerk April 5, 2023 Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory demonstrated lithiation gradients and electrode assembly movement during electrochemical cycling of a Li-metal cell containing a Ni–Mn–Co layered oxide cathode (NMC811). During charge, deposition of Li+ ions from the cathode increased the Li foil thickness; during discharge, the thickness decreased as Li+ ions are stripped off the foil. The resulting periodic movement was observed through tracking of Bragg peaks from the ordered phases of the cathode and separator. In addition to this 3.6 μm/mAh displacement, continuous mossy Li build-up on the anode caused an irreversible drift of the assembly, which is […]