Engineers at Rice University may have found a way to make lithium-ion batteries even more efficient. According to reports, the researchers have developed a scalable method that optimizes what is known as prelithiation, a process that helps mitigate lithium loss and improves the life cycle of a battery. The process relies on coating the silicon anodes with a more stabilized lithium metal particle.
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The development was made when a chemical and biomolecular engineer with the Rice lab tried spraying a coat of the mixture of particles onto the anodes. The engineer, Sibani Lisa Biswal, found that spraying the anodes down sufficiently improves the battery life from anywhere between 22 to 44 percent. Further, battery cells with greater amounts of coating could achieve higher efficiency.
This is a huge development that could change the way we use battery-powered items in our everyday lives. The lithium batteries that power phones, smartwatches and other battery-operated devices are essential to their operation. If we can increase the operation efficiency of those lithium batteries by spraying them with these particles, it could improve battery life in multiple areas.
There are some downsides. When cycled at full capacity (charged to 100 percent), the batteries actually began to fade more quickly in subsequent cycles with the particles on them. A full study detailing the findings can be found in ACS Applied Energy Materials.
Of Course, there are other advances that could make batteries even more efficient. For starters, replacing the graphite in lithium-ion batteries with silicon would allow for a more improved energy density. This is because graphite has a lower lithium content than silicon. There’s already a heavy push to make this replacement in common lithium-ion batteries.
However, like the new particle spray that improves the efficiency of lithium-ion batteries, silicon in the batteries also has some negatives. This is because silicon is able to form a so-called solid-electrolyte phase, which consumes lithium and wears down the battery quickly.
If we overcome this issue, however, the new particle, and use of silicon, in lithium-ion battery, could lead to longer lasting and more reliable batteries. Battery advancements have continued to wow the scientific community, and we can only hope that this discovery continues and eventually reaches the wider consumer market in some way.
The post Major breakthrough could increase lithium-ion battery life by 44% appeared first on BGR.
