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Efficient batteries

13.02.2013

Scientists from the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have set a world record for energy storage efficiency. This was achieved using a special electrode design that resembles the yolk of an egg.

The new sulfur-based cathode can store 5 times more energy than the best current commercial lithium-ion batteries. In addition, modern lithium-ion batteries typically retain about 80% of their original capacity after 500 charge/discharge cycles. In turn, the new technology maintains high battery efficiency even after 1000 charge/discharge cycles. Thanks to this, it became possible to create a new generation of batteries: capacious, light and more durable. They can be used in portable electronics and electric vehicles.

Scientists know that, in theory, sulfur can store many more lithium ions, and therefore much more energy, than current electrodes. However, there are two problems with the use of sulfur in batteries. So, when lithium ions are absorbed by the electrode during discharging, they bond with sulfur atoms and create intermediate compounds that limit the capacity of the battery. At the same time, the influx of ions causes an increase in the volume of the cathode by about 80%. This will crack any protective coatings on the electrode surface and shorten the life of the battery.

The new technology involves the creation of a cathode of nanoparticles with a diameter of 800 nanometers. They are a tiny particle of sulfur surrounded by a hard shell of porous titanium dioxide, like an egg yolk in an eggshell. Between the "yolk" and the "shell" there is an empty space that allows the sulfur to expand unhindered. During discharge, lithium ions pass through the shell and bind with sulfur, which expands and fills the void between the "yolk" and the "shell" without breaking the hard shell. In this case, the shell protects sulfur from the formation of intermediate compounds.

During the experiments, the new battery retained 70% capacity after 1000 charge / discharge cycles, which, even without optimization, matches and even exceeds that of the most advanced commercial batteries. Currently, scientists are planning to experiment with adding other materials, in particular silicon, inside the "shell".

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