Stanford Researchers Claim To Have Increased Li-Ion Battery Charge Capacity Via Nanotechnology
Researchers at Stanford University announced that they have come up with the technology to increase lithium-ion battery charge capacity by as much as ten times via the use of silicon nanowires. Accordingly, a laptop that now runs on battery for two hours could operate for 20 hours, or perhaps even 40 hours.
The electrical storage capacity of a Li-ion battery is limited by how much lithium can be held in the battery’s anode, which is typically made of carbon. Silicon has a much higher capacity than carbon, but also has a drawback. Silicon placed in a battery swells as it absorbs positively charged lithium atoms during charging, then shrinks during use as the lithium is drawn out of the silicon. This expand/shrink cycle typically causes the silicon (often in the form of particles or a thin film) to pulverize, degrading the performance of the battery.
However, by building the substrate out of silicon nanowires, the research team led by Yi Cui, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University, claims to have overcome this problem. The silicon nanowires also enlarge four times their original size as they take up the Lithium but remain stable as they release it and then take it up again. The resulting battery is able to hold ten times as much lithium, meaning ten times more charge.
The silicon nanowires are said to have a diameter one thousandth of the thickness of a sheet of paper. The greatly expanded storage capacity could make Li-ion batteries attractive to electric car manufacturers. Cui suggested that they could also be used in homes or offices to store electricity generated by rooftop solar panels.
Cui stated, "It’s not a small improvement. It’s a revolutionary development ... Given the mature infrastructure behind silicon, this new technology can be pushed to real life quickly."
A patent application has been filed and access to battery manufacturing facilities are being sought, either through forming a company or signing an agreement with an existing battery manufacturer.
