New discoveries make batteries faster and more durable

Brookhaven Scientists at the US Department of Energy have discovered a strange phenomenon in the most common battery currently used to power phones and electric cars, thereby opening up prospects. make batteries that can be charged faster and have a longer life.

The latest research shows that when the battery emits electrical current, the lithium density inside the micro particles can be reversed at a certain point, instead of constantly increasing. This is a big step in improving the life of batteries in consumer electronics devices. The findings have been published in the Science Advances journal.

The limited capacity of the battery causes the phone user to charge the battery every day.(Illustration).

Currently, the limited capacity of the battery causes the phone user to charge the battery every day. However, this new finding could help develop faster and more durable batteries. In each lithium-ion battery are particles with atoms arranged into a grid, a cyclic structure with holes between the atoms.

When lithium-ion batteries produce electricity, lithium ions will move into empty areas in this atomic grid. Previously, scientists believed that the density of lithium would constantly increase in this grid. In fact, this is not the case when the battery's electricity is made up of microscopic particles.

The phenomenon is the same as when we dip the sponge into the water, the overall density of lithium will constantly increase in micro particles. However, unlike water, lithium can freely move away from some areas, making lithium density not spread evenly on the surface of the atomic grid.

Scientists explain that the uneven movement of lithium can be prolonged, leading to negative effects, causing the battery to overload when operating. Before lithium enters the net, its texture is uniform. However, lithium has stretched the net when it is inside and causes the net to be retracted when it leaves.

Thus, each charge will cause the battery to be worn out and the active components are overloaded, causing the battery quality to deteriorate over time. Therefore, it is important to understand how lithium density affects space and time.

Although the study focused only on lithium-ion batteries, scientists believe this could happen with other high-performance batteries.