Posted on 12/27/2007 11:43:25 PM PST by PeaceBeWithYou
Stanford researchers have found a way to use silicon nanowires to reinvent the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power laptops, iPods, video cameras, cell phones, and countless other devices.The new version, developed through research led by Yi Cui, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, produces 10 times the amount of electricity of existing lithium-ion, known as Li-ion, batteries. A laptop that now runs on battery for two hours could operate for 20 hours, a boon to ocean-hopping business travelers.
"It's not a small improvement," Cui said. "It's a revolutionary development."
The breakthrough is described in a paper, "High-performance lithium battery anodes using silicon nanowires," published online Dec. 16 in Nature Nanotechnology, written by Cui, his graduate chemistry student Candace Chan and five others.
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.
"Given the mature infrastructure behind silicon, this new technology can be pushed to real life quickly," Cui said.
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 (i.e., when playing your iPod) 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.
Cui's battery gets around this problem with nanotechnology. The lithium is stored in a forest of tiny silicon nanowires, each with a diameter one-thousandth the thickness of a sheet of paper. The nanowires inflate four times their normal size as they soak up lithium. But, unlike other silicon shapes, they do not fracture.
Research on silicon in batteries began three decades ago. Chan explained: "The people kind of gave up on it because the capacity wasn't high enough and the cycle life wasn't good enough. And it was just because of the shape they were using. It was just too big, and they couldn't undergo the volume changes."
Then, along came silicon nanowires. "We just kind of put them together," Chan said.
For their experiments, Chan grew the nanowires on a stainless steel substrate, providing an excellent electrical connection. "It was a fantastic moment when Candace told me it was working," Cui said.
Cui said that a patent application has been filed. He is considering formation of a company or an agreement with a battery manufacturer. Manufacturing the nanowire batteries would require "one or two different steps, but the process can certainly be scaled up," he added. "It's a well understood process."
Also contributing to the paper in Nature Nanotechnology were Halin Peng and Robert A. Huggins of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford, Gao Liu of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Kevin McIlwrath and Xiao Feng Zhang of the electron microscope division of Hitachi High Technologies in Pleasanton, Calif.
Cool post. Thanks.
those Asians......
Most excellent.
Technology marches onward.
I hate to be a gloomy Gus...But in a way I hate reading stories about breakthroughs like this, because it seems to take forever before they hit the production lines.
I’ve been watching and waiting for several to actually jhit the market at a decent price point. If they ever come to market ar all. Still lookin for my 25’ roll-up OLED TV screen for years and years now. and haven’t seen anyone marketing electric and heat co-generator home systems that run off of the natural gas line...Yep! It’s proven tech...you can get heat, cookinf=g and Electricity from one very efficient and inexpensive appliance hooked to your gas line.
OLED TVs too. They’re putting out that dinky 10” screen for 2K...one of OLEDs major factors for replacing LCDs, is they are actually MUCH CHEAPER to make!
Well, amybe I’ll still be alive to see these batteries in the supermarket...but I doubt it.
(DGHoodini steps down from his soapbox.)
CORRECTION: that was supposed to read: 25” roll-up OLED TV.
It’s amazing what science comes up with. Battery technology is important, but there are limited supplies of lithium available.
Way cool.
I am still waiting for my personal jetpack and hovercar.
Between Gore & Paul, they should be able to spare enough.
I hear ya, Brudda! ;o)
Maybe this will shut up the crowd thats been boo-hooing the electric car.
This makes really some good news, everyone has had the mindset that batteries will always be big, bulky and expensive, not so! Battery technology is advancing faster than computer CPU speed was in the mid 90’s.
If this is true 20X the energy density of existing Lithium Ion batteries, then this should put electric vehicle’s in showrooms.
Ironically, the liberals will be really ticked, since we will all be able to still drive Hummers.
Lithium ion battery ping
bttt
bump
Not true-there is more lithium around than we'll ever need. And, just like lead in batteries currently, it will mostly be recycled.
You also have to add in the usable life of the batteries, too. If you're going to have to spend $15K in 5-8 years to replace them, there isn't much advantage.
We'll be seeing truly competitive, viable electric commuter cars within about 5 years, though....and the 0-60 mph performance will be "blistering".......
Usually they never hit the production line, because there is some major drawback that is never mentioned in the press releases.
ping
The technology should increase the life of the battery. The fibers are so small that the don’t feel road shock and do not break as the expand and contract.
NiCd batteries are showing the ability to last up to 200,000 miles in hybrids. Li batteries should last longer.
tag...
OK, so let’s get this developed so that we can get off oil and tell the oil sheiks to go pound sand.
Not all AA batteries are the same. Typically, store bought AA batteries are between 800 mAh and 1000 mAh. These are 2600 mAh. Try these:
http://thomasdistributing.com/shop/nexcell-2600mah-aa-batteriesbrrechargeable-nickel-metal-hydridebr4-battery-packbrincludes-one-free-battery-holder-p-1051.html?SP_id=&osCsid=r3465kjfhf4lfvktea06vae0l4
You'll need a charger, too, but these folks have the best available. Look for chargers with individual charge circuits. I have one of these and it's great. It'll do anything from AAA to D one to eight at a time.
http://thomasdistributing.com/shop/chargers-by-battery-size--aaaaacd-chargers-c-147_149_241.html?osCsid=r3465kjfhf4lfvktea06vae0l4
I also bought 12,500 mAh D cells from these guys to use in my XM boom box. Alkalines last about 5 hours. These large cap D's last days. They take about 2 hours to recharge.
Hope it helps!
As long as you cycle them to prevent them from building up memory. NiCd's are also very prone to loosing their ability to be recharged if they are ever overheated, too......
If I were to guess, my guess would be that LiPo's will become the next rage in battery technology....
I will order 4 of them. I have a Rayovac battery charger that charges 4 at a time. Will that work?
Check to see if it will charge Nickle-Metal Hydride batteries. You may need to check with the Rayovac website for details on your specific charger. My guess is probably not. Your charger is probably a trickle charger meant for Nickle-Cadnium type batteries. You can get a NiMH charger that will do 4 at a time for about $14 from these folks. At the cost of batteries these days, it doesn't take long to recoup the cost of the charger, especially if you use a lot of battery powered stuff.
FWIW, I've ordered dozens of batteries from these guys and I've always been very impressed with them. They stock high capacity, industrial quality batteries. Although store bought rechargables are the same can size, the ones these guys offer give as much as 8 times as much capacity than the off the shelf rechargables available at Home Depot, Wally World, etc.
The only detriment that I can see is that airports will have LESS power outlets available to travelers than they do now.
Having a portable DVD player or laptop w/ a 6 hour batter would be sweet!
I read the real small print on the back of the charger and it says it will charge Nickle-Metal Hydride.
Kewl! Then you're in business! You should see a remarkable difference with these higher capacity batteries. Enjoy!
And we will have to many more nuclear power plants to charge our electic cars.
http://www.marathonengine.com/cogeneration.html
http://world.honda.com/news/2007/c070403HomeHeatingPowerSystem/
We need to start building more nuke power plants NOW in that case, because our existing power infrastructure will not be able to handle the increased load
The Maraton one looks good with the 4.7Kw max output.
$.7 Kw will go a long way ion a power outage,especially if you also have heat and hot water.
But I’d like to see one that can maintain 10 to 15 Kw to
be able to completely function off the grid, and be able to run my AC at the same time as my fridge, microwave, TV, laptop, router, modem and a couple of lights as well.
....I want it all...and I want it yesterday! ;o)
One of the most overlooked technologies involved in hybrid car development is battery management. There is a computer that monitors battery temp and charge status that maximizes NiCd battery life. I know that Li is more tolerent to charge status but proper charging will increase their lifespan also.
If this tech is for real, LiPo should be phased out.
Does 70 cents/KWH factor in depreciation or is that just fuel cost?
The problem is that in the South we need AC, not heat. Otherwise, I would be interested. There is also supposed to be a Stirling engine version of a micro cogeneration unit out.
Not seeing where you are getting that statistic, but I doubt depreciation is factored in.
bmflr
.
.
.
.
According to Intrade, the winner of the December 12th GOP debate was... Duncan Hunter.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1938773/posts
Why the smart money is on Duncan Hunter
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1926032/posts
In this poll Hunter is up 3% and even with Paul and Thompson.
http://www.wxyz.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=3481ef60-8195-46a9-af04-b87b907bcfdd
I thought I was quoting your number, you may have been quoting someone else, but $.7 per KWH is 70 cents to me.
I pay 10 cents per KWH where I live. 70 cents for natural gas generated power seemed a little high, It must include depreciation because I can generate electricity for about that cost with a gasoline powered generator.
Ah....That was a typo on my part. I was referring to the 4.7 Kw (max) electrical output of the unit, as being a “fair” amount of electricity to run things with, during a blackout.
Fair, as in, it’ll keep the fridge , TV, a couple of lights and a fan ruuning...but it won’t tun all of a family houses’ appliances, and certainly not a Central AC..not even with a window AC..if all the other stuff is on too.
Instead of typing ‘4.7’, I typed ‘$.7’
“I do wonder how long it would take to recharge the nano-li-ion Tesla with a range of 800 miles.”
It always comes down to time and money. If these nano-wire batteries cost a fortune, then it won’t matter that a 200lb battery can take you 800 miles. Or if they have to be charged slowly like tradional Li-Ion batteries, they are also a non-starter. I’d rather have a set of A123 or AltairNano batteries that can be recharged in 10 minutes, even if they do weigh 600lbs to go 200 miles.
An electric airplane, on the other hand, is a different story. Weight will be king in that application.
Toshiba to release fast charging battery
December 12, 2007
The company said its Super Charge ion Battery can recharge to 90 percent of full capacity in less than five minutes. Tokyo-based Toshiba (OTC: TOSBF) announced that it planned to release a fast charging lithium ion battery early next year for use in industrial vehicles and other applications.The company said its Super Charge ion Battery can recharge to 90 percent of full capacity in less than five minutes.
Toshiba said it plans to make the battery a mainstay of its industrial systems and automotive products businesses, with the first system to be shipped in March 2008.
"The excellent performance of the SCiB will assure its successful application in industrial systems and in the electronic vehicles markets as a new energy solution," said Toshiharu Watanabe, CEO of Toshiba's Industrial Systems group.
"In terms of environmental impacts, the SCiB offers a long life that will reduce waste."
The company said its battery management system monitors voltage and temperature in order to protect the cells and balances the state of charge in each cell.
Toshiba expects its batteries to be used in battery-powered bicycles, motorcycles, automated guided vehicles, electric forklift trucks and construction machinery.
The company also said the new system is a promising candidate for emergency power sources, electric power regeneration in wind power systems and stabilization of electric power supply, with applications in hybrid and electric cars also planned.
Heck, I have a girlfriend who swears she can recharge batteries by putting them in the microwave oven.
I’ve never tried it, as I like my Microwave, kitchen, house, and personal belongings.
Don’t feel bad. I’m still waiting for my ride on the Pan Am Clipper Shuttle to the Hilton Space Station. Should have been here over 6 years ago....still waiting.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.