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Coating developed by Stanford researchers brings lithium metal battery closer to reality by Staff Writers Stanford CA (SPX) Aug 27, 2019
Hope has been restored for the rechargeable lithium metal battery - a potential battery powerhouse relegated for decades to the laboratory by its short life expectancy and occasional fiery demise while its rechargeable sibling, the lithium-ion battery, now rakes in more than $30 billion a year. A new coating could make lightweight lithium metal batteries safe and long lasting, a boon for development of next-generation electric vehicles. (Image credit: Shutterstock) A team of researchers at Stanford University and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has invented a coating that overcomes some of the battery's defects, described in a paper published Aug. 26 in Joule. In laboratory tests, the coating significantly extended the battery's life. It also dealt with the combustion issue by greatly limiting the tiny needlelike structures - or dendrites - that pierce the separator between the battery's positive and negative sides. In addition to ruining the battery, dendrites can create a short circuit within the battery's flammable liquid. Lithium-ion batteries occasionally have the same problem, but dendrites have been a non-starter for lithium metal rechargeable batteries to date. "We're addressing the holy grail of lithium metal batteries," said Zhenan Bao, a professor of chemical engineering, who is senior author of the paper along with Yi Cui, professor of materials science and engineering and of photon science at SLAC. Bao added that dendrites had prevented lithium metal batteries from being used in what may be the next generation of electric vehicles.
The promise "The capacity of conventional lithium-ion batteries has been developed almost as far as it can go," said Stanford PhD student David Mackanic, co-lead author of the study. "So, it's crucial to develop new kinds of batteries to fulfill the aggressive energy density requirements of modern electronic devices." The team from Stanford and SLAC tested their coating on the positively charged end - called the anode - of a standard lithium metal battery, which is where dendrites typically form. Ultimately, they combined their specially coated anodes with other commercially available components to create a fully operational battery. After 160 cycles, their lithium metal cells still delivered 85 percent of the power that they did in their first cycle. Regular lithium metal cells deliver about 30 percent after that many cycles, rendering them nearly useless even if they don't explode. The new coating prevents dendrites from forming by creating a network of molecules that deliver charged lithium ions to the electrode uniformly. It prevents unwanted chemical reactions typical for these batteries and also reduces a chemical buildup on the anode, which quickly devastates the battery's ability to deliver power. "Our new coating design makes lithium metal batteries stable and promising for further development," said the other co-lead author, Stanford PhD student Zhiao Yu. The group is now refining their coating design to increase capacity retention and testing cells over more cycles. "While use in electric vehicles may be the ultimate goal," said Cui, "commercialization would likely start with consumer electronics to demonstrate the battery's safety first."
NASA's portable trash bin-sized nuclear power module to be ready by 2022 Washington DC (Sputnik) Aug 14, 2019 The reactor is expected to fulfil a variety of tasks on the red planet, ranging from supplying astronauts with heat and air, to powering 3D printers that will be used for constructing buildings. NASA's Future In-Space Operations (FISO) Working Group has stated that its portable nuclear reactor, called Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY), will be ready to fly to Mars by 2022. Each KRUSTY will be capable of producing one to 10 kilowatts of electrical power while only being the ... read more
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