A newly discovered nano material that can improve the performance of lithium batteries

According to foreign media reports, an international team of scientists has discovered a material that can make lithium-ion batteries have more energy without sacrificing battery life. The research team found that antimony crystals will spontaneously and reversibly hollow out during the charge-discharge cycle. This is a highly anticipated feature that can increase energy density without compromising safety. Lithium-ion batteries generate electricity by transferring ions back and forth between the positive and negative electrodes. But in their current state, they have reached their limit. Efforts to increase the flow rate of lithium ions are hindered by the aging of the anode material. During the charge and discharge process, the anode material will expand and contract, thereby generating greater pressure and reducing battery life. Scientists have seen a solution in the'egg yolk Schell' particles, because the hollow space can adapt to the volume change of the battery during charging and discharging, while providing a stable outer surface, thereby improving the cycle capacity. For a long time, people have thought that replacing metal alloy anode materials with these particles is a very promising method, but facts have proved that there are problems in manufacturing these particles in a cost-effective way. Matthew McDowell, a research author at the Georgia Institute of technology, said: 'Intentional engineering of hollow nanomaterials has become a promising way to improve the life and stability of high-energy-density batteries. 'The problem has always been that directly synthesizing these hollow nanostructures on the large scale required for commercial applications is challenging and costly. Our findings can provide a simpler, streamlined process that improves performance in a manner similar to an intentionally designed hollow structure. 'McDowell and his colleagues from Georgia Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory began to study tiny particles that are one-thousandth of the diameter of a hair. The research team found that these oxide-coated antimony nanocrystals spontaneously hollowed out during the cell cycle, instead of expanding and contracting as expected. Using a high-resolution electron microscope to observe the nanoparticles in a small test cell confirmed this hollow behavior, and found that only particles with a diameter of less than 30nm would appear. Its working principle is to make the material expand when ions enter the anode through the elastic oxide layer, and create gaps when the ions are removed, instead of causing typical shrinkage behavior. McDowell said: 'When we first observed this unique hollow behavior, it was very exciting, and we knew right away that it could have an important impact on battery performance. '. Although these hollow nanoparticles are an exciting discovery, the team faces challenges. Antimony itself is very expensive, so it has not been used to produce battery electrodes. However, scientists suspect that other cheaper materials, such as tin, may exhibit the same hollow behavior. They now hope to explore these possibilities and work on larger batteries for commercial applications. McDowell said:'It will be interesting to test other materials to see if they will be transformed based on a similar hollow mechanism. 'This can expand the range of materials available for batteries. Our small test batteries show promising charge and discharge performance, so we hope to evaluate these materials in larger batteries. 'This research was published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. Disclaimer: The articles published on this site are all from the Internet and do not represent the views of this site. If there is any infringement, please contact to delete WeChat: Disclaimer: Some pictures and content of the articles published on this site are from the Internet. If there is any infringement, please contact delete A：Structural catalysis and conductive interface construction of lithium-sulfur batteries