There is a growing need for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries as a transition to "greener" energy sources. Nonetheless, most of their cathodes are made of cobalt, a metal whose extraction has significant negative social and environmental effects.
Image Credit: Smile Fight/Shutterstock.com All In One Inverter
Researchers have now evaluated a carbon-based cathode material that is abundant on Earth and could replace cobalt and other hazardous and scarce metals without compromising the performance of lithium-ion batteries, as reported in ACS Central Science. Lithium-ion batteries power everything these days, including electric cars, laptops, and cell phones.
One of the obstacles to achieving a worldwide switch to renewable energy sources, especially for the conversion from gas-powered to electric vehicles, is the scarcity and difficulty of mining metals like cobalt, nickel, and magnesium, which are necessary for rechargeable battery cathodes.
Prior studies have created cathodes from less expensive and more widely available carbon-containing materials, such as carbonyl compounds and organosulfur. Still, the energy output and stability of those prototypes fell short of that of conventional lithium-ion batteries. Thus, Mircea Dincă and associates sought to investigate the possibility of greater success with alternative carbon-based cathode materials.
They might have discovered bis-tetraaminobenzoquinone (TAQ) to be a good candidate. Layered solid-state structures formed by TAQ molecules can rival conventional cobalt-based cathode performance. Expanding upon their earlier research demonstrating TAQ's efficacy as a supercapacitor material, Dincă's group examined the substance in a lithium-ion battery cathode.
They added compounds containing rubber and cellulose to the TAQ cathode to boost the adhesion of TAQ to the stainless steel current collector of the cathode and to improve cycling stability. The new composite cathode provided an energy density higher than most cobalt-based cathodes cycled more than 2,000 times safely and charged-discharged in as little as six minutes in the researchers' proof-of-concept demonstration.
Before the TAQ-based cathodes are commercialized, more testing is required. Still, the researchers are hopeful that they could pave the way for the development of high-energy, long-lasting, and quickly rechargeable batteries that would accelerate the world's shift to renewable energy sources devoid of cobalt and nickel.
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A funded the research.
Fujii, S., et.al., (2023). Discovery of Unconventional Proton‐Conducting Inorganic Solids via Defect‐Chemistry‐Trained, Interpretable Machine Learning. Advanced Energy Materials. doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202301892.
Source: https://www.acs.org
Do you have a review, update or anything you would like to add to this news story?
Andrea Steck, Martius Cobo, Bruno Chencarek
In this interview, join Bruker as they describe how to improve battery production and performance, through the entire value chain, with the help of NMR.
In this interview, Sara Speak, the Industrial and Environmental Product Application Specialist at Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions, talks to AZoMaterials about the current challenges the food and beverage industry (F7b) faces in water management.
Dr. Craig Johnson & Dr. Kate Vanderburgh
AZoMaterials speaks with Dr. Craig Johnson, Director of Research Core Facilities, and Dr. Kate Vanderburgh, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-Ray Microscopy Manager, about the Materials Characterization Core (MCC) facility at Drexel University.
The Wafer XRD 300 is a integratable wafer Ooientation solution
This product profile describes the features and applications of the FOX 200 HT for measuring thermal conductivity.
This product profile describes the features and applications of the PlasmaPro ASP by Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology.
The global semiconductor market has entered an exciting period. Demand for chip technology is both driving the industry as well as hindering it, with current chip shortages predicted to last for some time. Current trends will likely shape the future of the industry, which is set to continue to show
The primary distinction between graphene-based batteries and solid-state batteries lies in the composition of either electrode. Although the cathode is commonly changed, carbon allotropes can also be employed in fabricating anodes.
In recent years, the IoT is rapidly being introduced into almost all sectors, but it has particular importance in the EV industry.
AZoM.com - An AZoNetwork Site
Mppt Solar Inverter Owned and operated by AZoNetwork, © 2000-2024