Scientists have developed a new lithium battery part that is far less likely to catch fire and at the same time offers effective performance, leading to safer smartphones and tablets.
‘As news reports of lithium-ion battery (LIB) fires in Boeing Dreamliner planes and Tesla electric cars remind us, these batteries – which are in everyday portable gadgets, like tablets and smartphones – have their drawbacks,’ researchers said.
Lynden Archer, Geoffrey Coates and colleagues at Cornell University explain that the danger of LIBs is related to their electrolytes, the chemical that allows ions to flow between the electrodes of the battery.
The electrolyte normally contains a flammable liquid. To eliminate or minimise this fire hazard, some researchers are going for a more stable, solid electrolytes.
But although solid electrolytes are less likely to fuel a fire, they are not as efficient in transporting ions, especially at room temperature.
Coates’s team went about tackling both issues to develop a safer, high-performance battery component, as Archer’s team studied the electrochemical characteristics of the materials.
The team’s efforts have resulted in a new family of solid polymer electrolytes that is not only good at conducting lithium ions at room temperature but also at minimising the risk of fire.
Both the materials are safer than their liquid counterparts in LIBs, but they could also be deployed in high-energy lithium-metal batteries, like promising lithium-sulphur and lithium-air batteries.
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