Engineers develop ultra-futuristic battery that dramatically outperforms competition: ‘High energy and safe’
A cadre of experts from China and Germany may have found a life-extending elixir of sorts for promising lithium-sulfur battery chemistry, according to lab results published in Nature.
The international expert group from multiple institutions leveraged abundant sulfur — along with boron, lithium, phosphorus, and iodine, or lithium thioborophosphate iodide — to form a “glass-like mixture” that serves as a solid electrolyte, per Tech Xplore.
The publication’s Bob Yirka wrote,
The latter proved to be the key; it helped speed the movement of electrons through the redox reactions, which led to faster reaction speeds,
When batteries operate, ions move between two electrodes through the electrolyte, which is often a liquid. Solid versions, considered a safer alternative, are being studied in numerous labs.
The study material’s porous structure is good for ion movement, key to battery function. What’s more, the pack held greater than 80% of its capacity after 25,000 charge-discharge cycles, per the abstract.
The experts join others from labs around the world who are trying to find a superb battery that outperforms common, reliable lithium-ion tech. The goal is often to lower the size and cost of power packs, perks that would reverberate throughout industry, including with electric vehicles and other tech.
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Lithium-sulfur is an option garnering attention because of its lower cost and capacity potential, according to Tech Xplore and AZoNano. The latter report called sulfur-based packs “among the most promising successors of lithium-ion batteries.”
What’s more, the Tech Xplore article suggests that the biggest hurdles — ion loss, expansion inside the pack, and degradation during cycling — are manageable.
The group’s prototype outperformed common lithium-ion batteries, which start to degrade after 1,000 cycles. The sulfur pack even tested well in high temperatures, all according to the publication.
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Engineers develop ultra-futuristic battery that dramatically outperforms competition: ‘High energy and safe’, source
