Battery Breakthrough Based on Graphene Charges 10x Faster
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Battery Breakthrough Based on Graphene Charges 10x Faster
I always like breakthroughs like this. While car batteries are not mentioned specifically, I can see the application. We might see this in only a few years according to the article.
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=23288
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=23288
Graphene and silicon anode yields 10 times faster charge and can hold a charge 10 times greater
Researchers at Northwestern University had made a breakthrough that could lead to a new battery with much more run time and a faster recharge time. The researchers created a new electrode for lithium-ion batteries that allows the battery to hold a 10x greater charge. At the same time, the battery is also able to recharge ten times faster than current designs.
The researchers say that the technology they have developed will be on the market in the next three to five years. The team has published a research paper on the discovery in the Advanced Energy Materials journal.
"We have found a way to extend a new lithium-ion battery's charge life by 10 times," said Harold H. Kung, lead author of the paper. "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."
Current batteries are limited by their charge density, which is how many lithium ions can be packed into the anode or cathode and by their charge rate. Experiments before used silicon to replace the carbon normally used in a battery, but normal silicon didn’t work. The team's breakthrough stabilizes the silicon to maximize the charge capacity and sandwiched that silicon between layers of graphene to accommodate volume changes during the battery use.
"Now we almost have the best of both worlds," Kung said. "We have much higher energy density because of the silicon, and the sandwiching reduces the capacity loss caused by the silicon expanding and contracting. Even if the silicon clusters break up, the silicon won't be lost."
The team will next look at the cathode after focusing their research previously on the anode.
However promising this new technology seems, we’ve all seen this before time and time again. Researchers develop new battery technologies, and we sit around and wait for it to hit the market. The last breakthrough we reported on was a fluoride battery that promises ten times the storage density of a comparable lithium-ion battery.
Source: Eurekalert
Researchers at Northwestern University had made a breakthrough that could lead to a new battery with much more run time and a faster recharge time. The researchers created a new electrode for lithium-ion batteries that allows the battery to hold a 10x greater charge. At the same time, the battery is also able to recharge ten times faster than current designs.
The researchers say that the technology they have developed will be on the market in the next three to five years. The team has published a research paper on the discovery in the Advanced Energy Materials journal.
"We have found a way to extend a new lithium-ion battery's charge life by 10 times," said Harold H. Kung, lead author of the paper. "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."
Current batteries are limited by their charge density, which is how many lithium ions can be packed into the anode or cathode and by their charge rate. Experiments before used silicon to replace the carbon normally used in a battery, but normal silicon didn’t work. The team's breakthrough stabilizes the silicon to maximize the charge capacity and sandwiched that silicon between layers of graphene to accommodate volume changes during the battery use.
"Now we almost have the best of both worlds," Kung said. "We have much higher energy density because of the silicon, and the sandwiching reduces the capacity loss caused by the silicon expanding and contracting. Even if the silicon clusters break up, the silicon won't be lost."
The team will next look at the cathode after focusing their research previously on the anode.
However promising this new technology seems, we’ve all seen this before time and time again. Researchers develop new battery technologies, and we sit around and wait for it to hit the market. The last breakthrough we reported on was a fluoride battery that promises ten times the storage density of a comparable lithium-ion battery.
Source: Eurekalert
the future looks bright for batteries. 
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Re: Battery Breakthrough Based on Graphene Charges 10x Faster
Another article by Daily Tech that doesn't look into the real details or actually question what was done. They quoted Eurekalert instead of going to the source and looking into the actual details. I went and read the actual journal (not going to re-publish it as it is a paid journal) and am not impressed for anything reasonable or production viable. I don't know who said "production version in 3-5 years" but that seems like something Eurekalert or whoever Eurekalert got the article from made up.
Most modern lithium batteries in mobile devices get charged 300 times a year, so that's honestly only half a year of output - not a "year or more", but okay. I know why they chose that number.
So what that means is this. Lets say your cell phone has 10 hours of talk time. Their battery supposedly has 100 hours. Cool. The problem is, after 150 charges, a lithium battery phone (like a good one in your phone) may have 9.5 hours remaining or maybe poor results and only 9 hours remaining. This thing apparently has dropped to under 50 hours.
So a lithium battery in a cell phone in half a year of constant use remains at 90-95% output. This thing is down to 50% of its stated output. Yeah. Not good!
Now while you'll say "oh that's awesome, it is still a LOT more" (and it is) it doesn't say how that life decays and what happens after 150 charges. Realistically after 300 charges it could be less than the lithium ion battery which is down to only maybe 8 hours... and I suspect that is the case.
The problem is you can make a battery charge ten times as much and ten times as fast but you can't keep it from generating ten times the heat at the same time. So these batteries get incredibly hot at the molecular level - and while graphene and silicon have the capacity to withstand that incredible heat (where lithium, manganese, nickel, or others would have long since burst into flames!!!) it doesn't mean that it won't break down those tightly set sheets of material and cause chemical breakdown. If you think a lithium battery gets hot, these things get mind blowingly hot. Graphene (and Carbon Nanotubes) do have incredible potential long term, but the problem is not only cost but also mastery of their use.
It's cool science and I'm glad that they're doing it, but it's not ready yet.
http://www.mccormick.northwestern.ed...icle_1000.html
after 150 charges, which would be one year or more of operation,
...the battery is still five times more effective than lithium-ion batteries...
So a lithium battery in a cell phone in half a year of constant use remains at 90-95% output. This thing is down to 50% of its stated output. Yeah. Not good!
Now while you'll say "oh that's awesome, it is still a LOT more" (and it is) it doesn't say how that life decays and what happens after 150 charges. Realistically after 300 charges it could be less than the lithium ion battery which is down to only maybe 8 hours... and I suspect that is the case.
The problem is you can make a battery charge ten times as much and ten times as fast but you can't keep it from generating ten times the heat at the same time. So these batteries get incredibly hot at the molecular level - and while graphene and silicon have the capacity to withstand that incredible heat (where lithium, manganese, nickel, or others would have long since burst into flames!!!) it doesn't mean that it won't break down those tightly set sheets of material and cause chemical breakdown. If you think a lithium battery gets hot, these things get mind blowingly hot. Graphene (and Carbon Nanotubes) do have incredible potential long term, but the problem is not only cost but also mastery of their use.
It's cool science and I'm glad that they're doing it, but it's not ready yet.
http://www.mccormick.northwestern.ed...icle_1000.html
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Joined: Aug 2006
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From: Orem, UT
Re: Battery Breakthrough Based on Graphene Charges 10x Faster
It all has to do with the internal resistance of the cell. I would assume that the carbon nanotube technology with it's immensely greater anode surface area could allow for less I^2R losses while charging/discharging. This idea is already seen in lithium RC batteries with high C ratings, they don't get as hot as lower C-rated batteries at the same charge/discharge currents.
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Joined: Jan 2001
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From: Fairfax Station, VA. Formally Long Island :(
Re: Battery Breakthrough Based on Graphene Charges 10x Faster
Another article by Daily Tech that doesn't look into the real details or actually question what was done. They quoted Eurekalert instead of going to the source and looking into the actual details. I went and read the actual journal (not going to re-publish it as it is a paid journal) and am not impressed for anything reasonable or production viable. I don't know who said "production version in 3-5 years" but that seems like something Eurekalert or whoever Eurekalert got the article from made up.
Most modern lithium batteries in mobile devices get charged 300 times a year, so that's honestly only half a year of output - not a "year or more", but okay. I know why they chose that number.
So what that means is this. Lets say your cell phone has 10 hours of talk time. Their battery supposedly has 100 hours. Cool. The problem is, after 150 charges, a lithium battery phone (like a good one in your phone) may have 9.5 hours remaining or maybe poor results and only 9 hours remaining. This thing apparently has dropped to under 50 hours.
So a lithium battery in a cell phone in half a year of constant use remains at 90-95% output. This thing is down to 50% of its stated output. Yeah. Not good!
Now while you'll say "oh that's awesome, it is still a LOT more" (and it is) it doesn't say how that life decays and what happens after 150 charges. Realistically after 300 charges it could be less than the lithium ion battery which is down to only maybe 8 hours... and I suspect that is the case.
The problem is you can make a battery charge ten times as much and ten times as fast but you can't keep it from generating ten times the heat at the same time. So these batteries get incredibly hot at the molecular level - and while graphene and silicon have the capacity to withstand that incredible heat (where lithium, manganese, nickel, or others would have long since burst into flames!!!) it doesn't mean that it won't break down those tightly set sheets of material and cause chemical breakdown. If you think a lithium battery gets hot, these things get mind blowingly hot. Graphene (and Carbon Nanotubes) do have incredible potential long term, but the problem is not only cost but also mastery of their use.
It's cool science and I'm glad that they're doing it, but it's not ready yet.
http://www.mccormick.northwestern.ed...icle_1000.html
Most modern lithium batteries in mobile devices get charged 300 times a year, so that's honestly only half a year of output - not a "year or more", but okay. I know why they chose that number.
So what that means is this. Lets say your cell phone has 10 hours of talk time. Their battery supposedly has 100 hours. Cool. The problem is, after 150 charges, a lithium battery phone (like a good one in your phone) may have 9.5 hours remaining or maybe poor results and only 9 hours remaining. This thing apparently has dropped to under 50 hours.
So a lithium battery in a cell phone in half a year of constant use remains at 90-95% output. This thing is down to 50% of its stated output. Yeah. Not good!
Now while you'll say "oh that's awesome, it is still a LOT more" (and it is) it doesn't say how that life decays and what happens after 150 charges. Realistically after 300 charges it could be less than the lithium ion battery which is down to only maybe 8 hours... and I suspect that is the case.
The problem is you can make a battery charge ten times as much and ten times as fast but you can't keep it from generating ten times the heat at the same time. So these batteries get incredibly hot at the molecular level - and while graphene and silicon have the capacity to withstand that incredible heat (where lithium, manganese, nickel, or others would have long since burst into flames!!!) it doesn't mean that it won't break down those tightly set sheets of material and cause chemical breakdown. If you think a lithium battery gets hot, these things get mind blowingly hot. Graphene (and Carbon Nanotubes) do have incredible potential long term, but the problem is not only cost but also mastery of their use.
It's cool science and I'm glad that they're doing it, but it's not ready yet.
http://www.mccormick.northwestern.ed...icle_1000.html
I like Daily Tech articles for the most part since they don't get into too much detail. It seems to have backfired in this case.
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Joined: Apr 2002
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Re: Battery Breakthrough Based on Graphene Charges 10x Faster
Yes you can...
It all has to do with the internal resistance of the cell. I would assume that the carbon nanotube technology with it's immensely greater anode surface area could allow for less I^2R losses while charging/discharging. This idea is already seen in lithium RC batteries with high C ratings, they don't get as hot as lower C-rated batteries at the same charge/discharge currents.
It all has to do with the internal resistance of the cell. I would assume that the carbon nanotube technology with it's immensely greater anode surface area could allow for less I^2R losses while charging/discharging. This idea is already seen in lithium RC batteries with high C ratings, they don't get as hot as lower C-rated batteries at the same charge/discharge currents.
Sure, you may only generate half the heat at the same charge rates - or maybe even a quarter of the heat - but when you increase the charge rates by a factor of ten it drives you right back into thermal runaway territory - and really those charge rates are what we're after. Look at the specs on A123's cells for example - you can get some incredible C ratings but they come at a cost.
You could say charge them at the reduced rates (like manufacturers already recommend) to improve life expectancy - but nobody wants to charge their stuff overnight. They want it fully charged and they want it charged instantly and there lies the problem. We need to increase capacity and charge rates at the same time. One or the other we might have a hope of keeping heat in check, but not both at once.
Reading what the guys at Northwestern wrote (along with keeping tabs on an old professor of mine I still talk to regularly who does battery research), heat is the major issue and no matter how much you increase the capacity, people will still say "but I'm not charging it overnight!". Even if the cells don't get to "thermal event" temperatures on the macro scale, they still do on a micro/nano scale and it kills the life expectancy of the battery as things break down.
And then there's the cost of graphene or carbon nanotubes per gram...
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From: Orem, UT
Re: Battery Breakthrough Based on Graphene Charges 10x Faster
Charge time for electric vehicles is definitely an enormous factor, but for consumer portables devices such as laptops, phones, etc. it's really not a big deal since they're usually plugged into a charger nightly, especially if the devices are gaining an increase in run time.
Heat on a nano scale is rough on batteries, but that's one of the claimed benefits of the nanotube technology over anything of today; the 'fingers' are extremely resilient and resistant to fracturing caused by thermal cycling.
Even if this tech never sees the consumer market, it will quickly pave the way for the next development. All technological achievements and breakthroughs have direct ties to physics and chemistry and battery tech is most definitely still in it's infancy.
Heat on a nano scale is rough on batteries, but that's one of the claimed benefits of the nanotube technology over anything of today; the 'fingers' are extremely resilient and resistant to fracturing caused by thermal cycling.
Even if this tech never sees the consumer market, it will quickly pave the way for the next development. All technological achievements and breakthroughs have direct ties to physics and chemistry and battery tech is most definitely still in it's infancy.
Last edited by MikeGyver; Nov 16, 2011 at 05:11 AM.
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From: Kentucky
Re: Battery Breakthrough Based on Graphene Charges 10x Faster
Does everyone still remember how craptastic batteries were before lithium ion? I think 10 or 15 years ago I had never heard of one. I would imagine science could get something like this workable in 10 or 15 years.
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Re: Battery Breakthrough Based on Graphene Charges 10x Faster
Mark my words. Battery and alternative energy tech breakthroughs like this have a funny habit of disappearing. I'm not sure who's responsible for that, but I've seen it happen more than once.
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Re: Battery Breakthrough Based on Graphene Charges 10x Faster
Zeroshift, anyone?
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4 months until the next official annual update...
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Re: Battery Breakthrough Based on Graphene Charges 10x Faster
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