Aussie scientists salt electrodes in lithium battery breakthrough

iTnews (.com.au) ^ | Jun 14 2016 9:00AM (AUS) | Juha Saarinen

[Utilizer]

An Australian research project has devised a way to use salt baths to boost battery life while improving performance and safety, offering the potential to create long-lasting energy storage for electric cars and electronic devices.

Researchers from the CSIRO, RMIT and the Queensland University of Technology found that a simple salt bath improved the performance of lithium batteries considerably.

Researchers Dr Adam Best, Dr Anand Bhatt and doctoral candidate Andrew Basile discovered that treating electrodes in a bath containing ionic liquids and lithium salts reduced the breakdown of the battery electrolyte during operation.

Basile told iTnews the treatment provided several advantages.

[Utilizer]

From the smallest grains of sand do the mighty mountains form, from a tiny little seed does the largest of trees grow. :)

[TXnMA]

From trying to make sense of the non-technical and non-specific article, it appears that they are saying that the electrodes are pre-treated -- under controlled conditions -- to undergo the same surface reactions that the electrolyte is now expected to perform before battery operation can begin.

If so, I can see how this could preserve and maintain the electrolyte in a near-pristine condition, and extend the potential lifetime of the battery.

Not magic -- but, perhaps just a good manufacturing process based on sound materials science.

Nous verrons...

[Utilizer]

And a potential blessing for those of us who need and appreciate extended battery life and power.

It may not always be necessary, but when you need your batteries to be as long-lived as possible, more advances in this area are most welcome. :)