Home > Press > On the road to fire-free, lithium-ion batteries made with asphalt
Hoverboard, cell phone and vehicle batteries could become safer with the addition of a natural asphalt. Credit: maxbelchenko/Shutterstock.com |
Abstract:
Lithium-ion batteries can be found in everything from cell phones to hoverboards, but these power sources have recently made headlines for the fires they have inadvertently caused. To address these safety hazards, scientists report in ACS Nano that they are paving the way to better batteries with a naturally occurring form of asphalt.
Since the lithium-ion battery first hit the market in 1991, it has become the industry standard due to its light weight and high efficiency. But the lithium-ion battery can act as its own worst enemy. As lithium ions move between electrodes in the battery, some stray. These rogue ions create microfibers, known as dendrites, that increase the risk of fires. To address this issue, scientists are looking to develop a different material to pair with lithium. Researchers have been pursing graphene and advanced nanomaterials as options because they block dendrite formation. But these routes have stalled due to high costs and other complicating factors. James M. Tour and colleagues wanted to go in a different direction and see if a natural, low-cost asphalt, which has a structure similar to graphene, would be a good alternative.
The team started by mixing asphalt with graphene nanoribbons to boost its conductivity. They then coated copper foil, the traditional lithium-ion battery substrate, with the asphalt-nanoribbon mixture. Next, lithium was plated uniformly onto the substrate, allowing for equal distribution of the ions. Testing showed that the resulting device had a higher conductivity than traditional lithium-ion batteries. In addition, the asphalt battery was more than 10 times faster at recharging than current commercial batteries. And the simple, inexpensive method the researchers developed resulted in no dendrite formation, an outcome that could one day contribute to a safer battery.
###
The authors acknowledge funding from the U.S. Air Force Office of Basic Research, Celgard LLC, Merck KGaA and Prince Energy.
The authors declare the following competing financial interest: Rice University has filed patents on the processes described in the paper. Those patents are under license or to be licensed by companies in which none of the authors are employees, officers or directors. An author has stock in one of the companies, and all potential conflicts are monitored by regular disclosure to the Rice University Office of Sponsored Projects and Research Compliance.
####
About American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, is a not-for-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Katie Cottingham
301-775-8455
James M. Tour, Ph.D.
Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering
Smalley-Curl Institute and the NanoCarbon Center
Rice University
Houston, TX 77005
Phone: 713-348-6246
Copyright © American Chemical Society
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related Links |
"Ultrafast Charging High Capacity Asphalt-Lithium Metal Batteries":
Related News Press |
News and information
Simulating magnetization in a Heisenberg quantum spin chain April 5th, 2024
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes April 5th, 2024
Possible Futures
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
With VECSELs towards the quantum internet Fraunhofer: IAF achieves record output power with VECSEL for quantum frequency converters April 5th, 2024
Discoveries
Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes April 5th, 2024
New micromaterial releases nanoparticles that selectively destroy cancer cells April 5th, 2024
Utilizing palladium for addressing contact issues of buried oxide thin film transistors April 5th, 2024
Materials/Metamaterials/Magnetoresistance
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
Focused ion beam technology: A single tool for a wide range of applications January 12th, 2024
Announcements
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters
Simulating magnetization in a Heisenberg quantum spin chain April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Military
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024
New chip opens door to AI computing at light speed February 16th, 2024
Battery Technology/Capacitors/Generators/Piezoelectrics/Thermoelectrics/Energy storage
What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024
A battery’s hopping ions remember where they’ve been: Seen in atomic detail, the seemingly smooth flow of ions through a battery’s electrolyte is surprisingly complicated February 16th, 2024
Grants/Sponsored Research/Awards/Scholarships/Gifts/Contests/Honors/Records
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes April 5th, 2024
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
Premium Products | ||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||