Li-ion Battery, Nanostructuring

Researchers at Delft University of Technology can predict how nanostructuring – the extreme reduction of structure – will affect the performance of Li-ion batteries. The nanostructuring of battery materials is likely to be common practice in the future, but it is not always performance-enhancing. The research findings have recently been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

A Li-ion battery is currently the smallest and lightest way to store as much rechargeable electrical energy as possible. However, the batteries are slow to charge and discharge, and this restricts their suitability for applications such as hybrid and electric vehicles. This sluggish performance is largely determined by the relatively long distance the lithium-ions have to travel through the electrode material in the battery. The speed at which the ions make their way through the electrode material is also slow compared to that in electrolyte (the fluid between the electrode material). The current strategy is therefore to nanostructure the electrode particles; that is to say, to make them very small (measurable in nanometres), and by doing so to shorten the existing route within the electrode material.

Full story

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Panasonic to begin mass-production of long-life Li-ion battery system for solar-powered homes in Europe

Short notes on Open Access, Peer review & (insane) publications