Sydney, Australia (CU)_ With the development of nanotechnology-based lithium-ion batteries created by University of Queensland, flat batteries may soon become a thing of the past. As a breakthrough in battery technology, this method more than doubles the longevity of highly desirable high-voltage Li-ion batteries, which have a greater energy density but only endure a few hundred cycles.
Professor Lianzhou Wang and his colleagues at the School of Chemical Engineering and the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) have proved the stability of a battery through 1,000 charge/discharge cycles. Wang explained the technology. He said, “Our process will increase the life-span of batteries in many things from smart phones and laptops to power tools and electric vehicles”.
Wang added, “We’ve designed a uniquely grown atomic-thin functional layer on the surface of a high-voltage cathode, which is the source of lithium ions and a critical aspect that limits the cycle life in a battery.” According to Wang, batteries corrode with time. He said, “This new approach features a minimal protective coating at a scalable process, paving the way for the deployment of these abundant high-voltage materials for next generation high energy batteries”.
With industry under growing compulsion to decarbonize, it was nessessary to produce lithium-ion batteries that were less expensive, had a better energy density, and had a longer cycle life. Wang expressed confidence over the technology. He said, “We’re confident that nanotechnology will have widespread applications across industry, including in consumer electronics, electric vehicles and the energy storage sector”.
Dr Rosalind Gummow, a technical expert serving in Brisbane-based research and development business VSPC Pty Ltd that is specialized in creating and commercializing innovative cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, expressed delight over the achievement. Gummow said, “New methods like the use of epitaxial surface layers to improve the cycling efficiency and cycle life of high-voltage cathodes are vital in the quest to improve the energy density of Li-ion batteries”. He added, “The methods developed here also have potential to stabilize other cathode materials that degrade rapidly with cycling.”
