With the popularity of electric vehicles rising, the technology for a
high-capacity lithium-ion battery that charges quickly and discharges
slowly remains an unrealized goal — but researchers are now closer than
ever. An international team, including members from the University of
Science and Technology of China, reply published details in the
journal Science about an engineered electrode material with a potential
to be used in advanced batteries. Energy enters and leaves the battery by electrochemical reactions in
electrodes, so efficient and effective lithium-ion transfer is of utmost
importance, especially in transferring the energy from the battery to
the device via the anode, according to one of the authors, Jin Hongchang
of USTC in Hefei, Anhui province. The researchers turned to black phosphorus, a material that has been
considered for use in electrodes before but is usually abandoned because
of its tendency to deform along its layered edges, making the transfer
of lithium ions inefficient and rendering a lower quality material,
according to Ji Hengxing, professor at USTC and another of the paper's
authors. By combining black phosphorus with graphite, the chemical bonds
between the two materials stabilizes and the problematic edge changes
are prevented, Ji said. The team also tackled another issue hindering the material:
Electrolytes can break down into less conductive pieces and build up on
the surface of an electrode, inhibiting ion transfer into the electrode
material, like dust obscuring light through glass. The team applied a thin polymer gel coating to the electrode
materials and reinforced the ion transport path, effectively preventing
the problem. "With the new technological breakthrough, it is possible to fully
charge an electric vehicle in about 10 minutes, providing a cruising
range of about 500 kilometers," Ji said.
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