Technology could increase lithium-ion batteries' charge

The university said in a statement that the research team has created an electrode for lithium-ion batteries that allows them to hold a charge up to 10 times greater than current technology.

Batteries with the electrode are also reported to be able to charge 10 times faster than current batteries.

The researchers are reported to have achieved this by combining two chemical-engineering approaches.

‘Even after 150 charges, which would be one year or more of operation, the battery is still five times more effective than lithium-ion batteries on the market today,’ explained Prof Harold Kung from the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Lithium-ion batteries charge through a chemical reaction in which lithium ions are sent between two ends of the battery, the anode and the cathode.

In current rechargeable batteries, the anode, which is made of multiple layers of carbon-based graphene sheets, can only accommodate one lithium atom for every six carbon atoms. To increase energy capacity, scientists have previously experimented with replacing the carbon with silicon, as silicon can accommodate much more lithium — four lithium atoms for every silicon atom. However, silicon expands and contracts dramatically in the charging process, causing fragmentation and losing its charge capacity rapidly.