A Chinese research team from Stanford University developed a new aluminum battery that has high-performance and is rechargeable. According to the team, this battery could be a safe alternative to batteries available right now.
“We have developed a rechargeable aluminum battery that may replace existing storage devices, such as alkaline batteries, which are bad for the environment, and lithium-ion batteries, which occasionally burst into flames,” said Hongjie Dai, a professor of chemistry at Stanford. “Our new battery won’t catch fire, even if you drill through it.”
Aluminum has long been considered as an attractive alternative for battery design, but nothing much has come from the idea. We’ve come to understand that previous research in the art of using aluminum to create battery did not bear much fruit, mainly because researchers found it difficult to find proper materials for cathode and electrolyte.
For those who are unaware, cathode and electrolyte are needed to make sure the battery works as intended after repeated charging and discharging.
The scientists at Stanford managed to use anode, graphite for cathode and an ionic liquid as electrolyte. This allowed them to create an aluminum-ion that is fast on charging, no flammable problems, inexpensive, and last long-lasting.
“People have tried different kinds of materials for the cathode,” Dai said. “We accidentally discovered that a simple solution is to use graphite, which is basically carbon. In our study, we identified a few types of graphite material that give us very good performance.”
If everything goes according to plan, we could witness the rise of the first aluminum batteries in a matter of years.
An aluminum battery could have a bright future since it is able to bend. It means we could very well see the technology incorporated into bendable smartphones and tablets. Not to mention, these type of batteries are not flammable, so it could usher in a new day where batteries no longer explode and cause severe burns to users.
Source: [Stanford News]
