Scientists solve chemical puzzle thwarting development of lithium air batteries

Such batteries have the potential to store electricity at up to five times the energy density of lithium-ion batteries but inherent shortcomings have thwarted their development.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have helped prove that a new prototype is powered by a chemical reaction that may solve the new battery's biggest drawback.

The findings are reported in the January 11, 2016 issue of Nature.

Current lithium-air batteries - in which the metallic lithium of the anode reacts with oxygen from the air – store energy in the form of chemical bonds of oxide compounds. Versions tested to date have stored and released energy from lithium peroxide, an insoluble substance that disrupts the battery's electrode.

Battery scientists at the US Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory developed a prototype that they claimed had the ability to produce only lithium's superoxide, not peroxide, as the battery discharges. Unlike lithium peroxide, lithium superoxide breaks down into lithium and oxygen, thereby offering the possibility of a battery with high efficiency and good cycle life.