It is expected to replace lithium-ion batteries! US scientists develop new "dream battery"
American scientists published a paper in the latest issue of the "Journal of the American Chemical Society" saying that they have developed a new type of sodium-sulfur battery that solves the problems of dendrites commonly faced by similar batteries and makes the battery life longer - after 300 cycles Charge and discharge are still stable performance. The latest research is an important milestone on the road to commercialization of sodium-sulfur batteries, which are expected to replace the widely used lithium-ion batteries in the future.
: Physicists Organization Network
Litium-jonbatterier används för närvarande flitigt i smartphones och elfordon. Men litium och kobolt, råvarorna för tillverkning av litium-jonbatterier, är inte bara begränsade i reserver utan har också en viss negativ inverkan på miljön, inklusive användning av stora mängder grundvatten, föroreningar av mark- och vattenkällor är koldioxidutsläppen höga. Material som natrium och svavel är billigare, mer lättillgängliga (natrium kan fås från havet) och mer miljövänliga. Med detta i åtanke har forskare arbetat med natrium-baserade batterier som kan fungera i rumstemperatur under de senaste 20 åren.
The latest research leader, Professor Arumgan Mantiram, Director of the Materials Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, said: "The sodium and sulfur are abundant, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective, making sodium-sulfur batteries a promising alternative. kind of 'dream battery'."
In two recent studies of sodium batteries by Mantiram's team, the scientists adjusted the composition of the electrolyte to help ions move back and forth between the cathode and anode, stimulating the charging and discharging of the battery. In addition, they have overcome a common problem in sodium batteries -- needle-like dendrites that grow on the battery's anode, causing the battery to rapidly age, short-circuit, and even catch fire and explode.
The researchers explain that in previous sodium-sulfur battery electrolytes, intermediate compounds formed from sulfur would dissolve in the electrolyte and shuttle between the two electrodes within the battery, leading to material loss, component degradation and dendrite formation. The new electrolyte they formulated uses an inert (not involved in chemical reaction) solvent to dilute the concentrated salt solution, thereby keeping the electrolyte in a "semi-dissolved" state. The results show that the new electrolyte can prevent the dissolution of sulfur, thus solving the shuttle and dendrite problems. This allows the battery to last longer, showing stable performance after 300 charge-discharge cycles.
Litiumpriserna har skjutit i höjden under det senaste året och efterfrågan på alternativ till litium-jonbatterier har blivit starkare. Forskarna planerar att bygga vidare på detta genombrott genom att testa större batterier för att se om de kan användas på elfordon och lagring av förnybara energikällor som vind och sol.
