Science Daily July 25, 2022 Alkaline Zn batteries have limited rechargeability. The short cycle life is caused by the transition between metallic Zn and ZnO, whose differences in electronic conductivity, chemical reactivity, and morphology undermine uniform electrochemical reactions and electrode structural stability. To address this an international team of researchers (Hong Kong, USA- Georgia Institute of Technology, China) has proposed an electrode design with bi-continuous metallic zinc nanoporous structures capable of stabilizing the electrochemical transition between metallic Zn and ZnO. Via in situ optical microscopy and electrochemical impedance measurements, they demonstrated the kinetics-controlled structural evolution of Zn and ZnO. In […]
Category Archives: Battery technology
Longer lasting sodium-ion batteries on the horizon
Science Daily July 13, 2022 The severe instability of the solid–electrolyte interphase (SEI) formed during repeated cycling in sodium ion batteries (NIBs) hinders their development. In particular, the SEI dissolution in NIBs with a high-voltage cathode is more severe than in the case of Li-ion batteries (LIBs) and leads to continuous side reactions, electrolyte depletion and irreversible capacity loss, making NIBs less stable than LIBs. A team of researchers in the US (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Washington) developed a rational electrolyte design to suppress the SEI dissolution and enhance NIB performance. Their electrolyte lowered the solvation ability for […]
These energy-packed batteries work well in extreme cold and heat
EurekAlert July 4, 2022 Researchers at UC San Diego have developed an electrolyte that is not only versatile and robust throughout a wide temperature range, but also compatible with a high energy anode and cathode. It is made of a liquid solution of dibutyl ether mixed with a lithium salt, and compatible with a lithium-sulfur battery. The electrolyte helps improve both the cathode side and anode side while providing high conductivity and interfacial stability. They engineered the sulfur cathode to be more stable by grafting it to a polymer. In tests, the proof-of-concept batteries retained 87.5% and 115.9% of their […]
Dual membrane offers hope for long-term energy storage
Science Daily May 3, 2022 Polysulfide-air redox flow batteries demonstrated great potential for long-duration energy storage technologies that can be deployed at grid scale. However, the crossover of polysulfide is one significant challenge. Researchers in the UK have developed a stable and cost-effective alkaline-based hybrid polysulfide-air redox flow battery where a dual-membrane-structured flow cell design mitigates the sulfur crossover issue. Moreover, combining manganese/carbon catalyzed air electrodes with sulfidated Ni foam polysulfide electrodes, the redox flow battery achieves a maximum power density of 5.8 mW cm−2 at 50% state of charge and 55 °C. Compared with the best results obtained to date […]
Achieving higher performance with potassium ion battery
Phys.org April 14, 2022 Low temperature aqueous batteries (LT-ABs) have attracted extensive attention in recent years. However, they suffer from electrolyte freezing, slow ionic diffusion and sluggish interfacial redox kinetics at low temperature. In a review article researchers in China discussed the physicochemical properties of aqueous electrolytes in terms of phase diagram, ion diffusion and interfacial redox kinetics to guide the design of low temperature aqueous electrolytes (LT-AEs). They introduced the characteristics of equilibrium and non-equilibrium phase diagrams to analyze the antifreezing mechanisms and propose design strategies for LT-AEs. To understand and regulate the ion diffusion kinetics they reviewed the […]
Shapeable carbon fiber networks with hierarchical porous structure for high-performance Zn-I2 batteries
Nanowerk March 16, 2022 Although aqueous rechargeable zinc-iodine batteries (ZIBs) emerged as a promising energy storage alternative they suffer from the severe shuttle effect of polyiodide and poor reversibility, leading to the poor cycling lifetime and potential safety issues. Researchers in China found that the assembly of Al-based metal-organic frameworks (Al-MOFs) in the presence of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) via electrospinning technique enabled the formation of Al-MOF/PAN fibers. With the subsequent pyrolysis, the hierarchical porous carbon fibers with nitrogen doping (NPCNFs) are prepared for loading iodine. The confinement effect of the porous carbon network and the nitrogen doping, inhibits the shuttle effect […]
Development of stretchable and printable free-form lithium-ion batteries
Nanowerk March 25, 2022 Researchers in South Korea have developed a fully stretchable lithium-ion battery system using stretchable electrode. It acquires intrinsic stretchability and improved interfacial adhesion with the active materials via a functionalized physically cross-linked organogel as a stretchable binder and separator. The stretchable current collectors are fabricated in the form of nanocomposites consisting of a matrix with excellent barrier properties without swelling in organic electrolytes and nanostructure-controlled multimodal conductive fillers. They demonstrated several types of stretchable lithium-ion batteries that reliably operated under various stretch deformations with capacity and rate capability comparable with a nonstretchable batteries even under high […]
Revealing thermal runaway routes in lithium-sulfur batteries
EurekAlert March 14, 2022 Researchers in China investigated the thermal runaway behavior of Li-S pouch cells from the materials level and found that the thermal runaway route starts from cathode-induced reactions and then gets accelerated by reactions from the anode. The solvent vaporization was verified to dominate pressure building up during thermal runaway. Li-S batteries employing varied electrolytes with different thermal stabilities, even inorganic all solid-state electrolytes, all undergo rapid thermal runaway at a narrow temperature range due to the intrinsic thermal features of the sulfur cathode and Li metal anode sublimating, melting, and cross-reacting at high temperatures. According to […]
World’s smallest battery can power dust-sized computer
Nanowerk February 19, 2022 The size and adequate energy storage mismatch between microbatteries and microelectronics has emerged as a fundamental barrier against the take-off of tiny intelligent systems requiring power anytime anywhere. The on-chip self-assembly process known as micro-origami is capable of winding stacked thin films into Swiss-roll structures to reduce the footprint area, which exactly mimics the manufacture of the most successful full-sized batteries—cylinder batteries. In addition to discussing in detail the technical difficulties of reducing the size of on-chip microbatteries with various structures and potential solutions, researchers in Germany highlight the following two basic requirements for eventual integration […]
It’s in the air – battery discovery takes up the charge
Science Daily February 10, 2022 An international team of researchers (Australia, China, USA – Argonne National Laboratory) describe the details of an Li-O2 battery operated via a new quenching/mediating mechanism that relies on the direct chemical reactions between a versatile molecule and superoxide radical/Li2O2. The battery exhibits a 46-fold increase in discharge capacity, a low charge overpotential of 0.7 V, and an ultralong cycle life greater than 1400 cycles. Redox-active 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy moieties bridged by a quenching-active perylene diimide backbone acts as a redox mediator to catalyze discharge/charge reactions and serves as a reusable superoxide quencher to chemically react with superoxide […]