Scientists tune the anode, helping lithium-ion batteries charge to 60% in less than 6 minutes

The scientists tweaked the anode, which is usually made from graphite of lithium-ion batteries, thereby shortening the charging time.

A team of experts from various Chinese research institutes accelerates the charging of lithium-ion batteries by adding a copper coating and nanowires to the anode, Techxplore reported on April 28. The new study was published in the journal Science Advances.

Illustration of an electric vehicle charging its battery.

Analysts say one of the reasons holding back the widespread switch from petrol to electric vehicles is the time it takes to charge the batteries. For example, an electric vehicle can take up to an hour to charge the battery from 40% to 80%.

One of the main obstacles when it comes to speeding up charging is the anode of the battery. Most anodes are made of graphite and are made into a disordered composite. This is not an efficient way to transmit electric current, the team points out. They also said that, in addition to the arrangement of materials inside, the size of the space between them is also an issue.

To overcome this, the team first ran theoretical models to optimize the spatial distribution of particles of different sizes and the porosity of the electrodes. They then applied the information obtained from the model to tune the traditional graphite anode. The team of scientists coated copper on the anode and then added copper nanowires to the electrode mixture. They further heated and then cooled the anode, compressing the mixture into a more orderly material.

Experts fit the new anode into a standard lithium-ion battery, then measure the required charging time. As a result, they were able to charge the battery to 60% in just 5.6 minutes and to 80% in 11.4 minutes. The team did not test the 100% charging time as this is not recommended with such batteries. They also have not revealed how much adding copper to the anode can increase the price of the battery.

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