Lithium-ion batteries are flammable and the price of the raw material is increasing. Scientists and engineers have been trying to find out a safe yet efficient alternative to the Lithium-ion technology. The researchers ofΒ Empa and ETH ZΓΌrichΒ have discovered promising approaches as to how we might produce powerful batteries out of waste graphite and scrap metal.
Kostiantyn KravchykΒ andΒ Maksym Kovalenko, the two chief researchers of theΒ Empaβs Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, led the research group. Their ambitious goal is to make a battery out of the most common elements in the Earthβs crust β such as graphite or aluminum. These metals offer a high degree of safety, even if the anode is made of pure metal. This also enables the assembly of the batteries in a very simple and inexpensive way.
In typical lithium-ion battery design, the negative electrode or anode is made from graphite. This new design, however, uses graphite as the positive electrode or cathode. In order to make such batteries run, the liquid electrolyte needs to consist of special ions that form a kind of melt and do not crystallize at room temperature. The metal ions move back and forth between the cathode and the anode in this βcold meltβ, encased in a thick covering of chloride ions.
Alternatively, large but lightweight and metal-free organic anions could be used. But, this raises some questions which cannot be solved easily β where are these βlargeβ ions supposed to go when the battery is charged? What could be a suited cathode material?
Read More:Β RESEARCHERS DEVELOPED LOW COST BATTERY FROM GRAPHITE WASTE