Found a replacement for the battery in your phone

Scientists in Russia, Australia and Japan have all expressed their interest in the new project through a series of research papers that have appeared over the past few months.

If you use a smartphone or laptop, your life will almost depend on Lithium-ion batteries. But after using, this type of battery can not be charged anymore, Lithium materials are scarce and extremely harmful to the environment when exploited, not to mention explosive. The vast majority of consumer electronics and energy storage rely on Lithium-ion batteries because there is currently no better alternative.

After many efforts to find alternatives, the National Academy of Sciences announced a new breakthrough that could compete with Lithium-ion: Potassium metal batteries, easy to exploit and operate with high performance. than.

Research co-author, mechanical engineering professor Nikhil Koratkar of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute said that potassium batteries previously did not work as well as lithium-ion batteries, but the team has found a safe and effective way to make potassium batteries. than.

The mechanism of action of the battery is essentially a closed chemical reaction made up of two electrodes - the anode and the cathode - with the electrolyte sandwiched between. When charging begins, a stream of electrons begins to flow from the cathode to the positive.

With the development of potassium batteries, the era of Lithium-ion batteries is coming to an end?Photo: Medium.

In Lithium-ion batteries, the anode is made of a lithium compound paired with a graphite lead. If the researchers simply replaced the anode or cathode with potassium, the performance would drop significantly. Because potassium is heavier and energy is also less.

Koratkar's team tries to improve the performance of Potassium batteries far more than commercial Lithium-ion by replacing both the cathode and anode with the metal Potassium.

But one problem that most Kali battery researchers face is the development of a metal dendritic tail. Over time, they disrupt the internal structure of the battery, resulting in a short-circuit and causing an explosion. Koratkar's team has found a way to overcome this problem by self-healing process.

By operating the battery with a relatively high charge and discharge rate, they were able to precisely control the level of heat in the battery to the point that the Potassium did not melt but was sufficient to trigger surface diffusion, in order to push the metal to the dendritic end. and smooth it out.

Potential use of Potassium batteries is enormous. They not only save more electricity for consumer electronics but also large devices like electric vehicles. Moreover, they provide a source of green energy from wind and solar. Scientists in Russia, Australia and Japan have all expressed their interest in this new project through a series of research papers that have appeared over the past few months.