Inventing liquid zinc batteries can prevent explosion

Scientists hope that new batteries can replace lithium-ion batteries that are prone to explosion in most consumer electronics devices today.

Researchers think they have found a more durable and safe zinc battery using water electrolytes (adding zinc salts) that could prevent the possibility of explosion like a lithium-ion battery.

University of Maryland researchers at A. James Clark School of Engineering have created a new type of zinc battery that uses electrolyte electrolyte instead of flammable substances in lithium-ion batteries. However, to keep the battery durable and long-term, the team added zinc and metal salts.

To keep the battery durable and lasting, the team added zinc and metal salts.

One of the authors of the paper and a collaborator for A. James Clark (UMD), Fei Wang said: 'We own batteries that can compete with lithium-ion batteries at energy density, but There is no risk of explosion or fire '.

This breakthrough can have a huge impact on the consumer electronics industry. Typically, the case of Samsung Galaxy Note7 must be recalled in 2016 after the device's battery is constantly burning. The problems with batteries have been discovered after conducting large-scale testing at manufacturing plants and have been overcome by Samsung on Galaxy Note8, Galaxy S8 is currently sold in the market.

The team hopes that this progress could be commercialized and replaced with potentially explosive lithium-ion batteries in most consumer electronics devices today.

This water zinc battery is rechargeable and unlike other zinc batteries, it does not need to recharge electrolytes. The team believes they have found a way to reduce production costs for this type of battery.

Currently, improving lithium-ion batteries is a major area of ​​research. Imec, a Belgian company, is developing a solid nano-electrolyte lithium ion battery (it starts to be liquid but then turns into a solid).

New battery technology promises many breakthroughs, especially in the field of electric vehicles.

Not only UMD but many other research teams also realized that wet batteries are safer and more efficient but often accompanied by high cost issues. For electric cars, solid state batteries often have low conductivity and this is bad news for charging. However, UMD hopes that in 2024 they will be able to produce batteries that can be charged in 20 minutes and help the car to travel longer distances.

New zinc battery research was published Monday in Nature Materials.