Posted on 04/09/2021 9:33:25 AM PDT by Red Badger
Moreover, it is safer in terms of potential fire hazards and has a lower environmental impact.
It is difficult to imagine our daily life without lithium-ion batteries. They dominate the small format battery market for portable electronic devices, and are also commonly used in electric vehicles. At the same time, lithium-ion batteries have a number of serious issues, including: a potential fire hazard and performance loss at cold temperatures; as well as a considerable environmental impact of spent battery disposal.
According to the leader of the team of researchers, Professor in the Department of Electrochemistry at St Petersburg University Oleg Levin, the chemists have been exploring redox-active nitroxyl-containing polymers as materials for electrochemical energy storage. These polymers are characterized by a high energy density and fast charging and discharging speed due to fast redox kinetics. One challenge towards the implementation of such a technology is the insufficient electrical conductivity. This impedes the charge collection even with highly conductive additives, such as carbon.
Looking for solutions to overcome this problem, the researchers from St Petersburg University synthesized a polymer-based on the nickel-salen complex (NiSalen). The molecules of this metallopolymer act as a molecular wire to which energy-intensive nitroxyl pendants are attached. The molecular architecture of the material enables high capacitance performance to be achieved over a wide temperature range.
‘We came up with the concept of this material in 2016. At that time, we began to develop a fundamental project “Electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries based on organometallic polymers”. It was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation. When studying the charge transport mechanism in this class of compounds, we discovered that there are two keys directions of development. Firstly, these compounds can be used as a protective layer to cover the main conductor cable of the battery, which would be otherwise made of traditional lithium-ion battery materials. And secondly, they can be used as an active component of electrochemical energy storage materials,’ explains Oleg Levin.
The polymer took over three years to develop. In the first year, the scientists tested the concept of the new material: they combined individual components to simulate the electrically conducting backbone and redox-active nitroxyl-containing pendants. It was essential to make certain that all parts of the structure worked in conjunction and reinforced each other. The next stage was the chemical synthesis of the compound. It was the most challenging part of the project. This is because some of the components are extremely sensitive and even the slightest error of a scientist may cause degradation of the samples.
Of the several polymer specimens obtained, only one was found to be sufficiently stable and efficient. The main chain of the new compound is formed by complexes of nickel with salen ligands. A stable free radical, capable of rapid oxidation and reduction (charge and discharge), has been linked to the main chain via covalent bonds.
‘A battery manufactured using our polymer will charge in seconds – about ten times faster than a traditional lithium-ion battery. This has already been demonstrated through a series of experiments. However, at this stage, it is still lagging behind in terms of capacity – 30 to 40% lower than in lithium-ion batteries. We are currently working to improve this indicator while maintaining the charge-discharge rate,’ says Oleg Levin.
The cathode for the new battery has been fabricated – a positive electrode for use in chemical current sources. Now we need the negative electrode – the anode. In fact, it does not have to be created from scratch – it can be selected from the existing ones. Paired together they will form a system that, in some areas, may soon supersede lithium-ion batteries.
‘The new battery is capable of operating at low temperatures and will be an excellent option where fast charging is crucial. It is safe to use – there is nothing that may pose a combustion hazard, unlike the cobalt-based batteries that are widespread today. It also contains significantly less metals that can cause environmental harm. Nickel is present in our polymer in a small amount, but there is much less of it than in lithium-ion batteries,’ says Oleg Levin.
Reference: “The Fast and the Capacious: A [Ni(Salen)]‐TEMPO Redox‐Conducting Polymer for Organic Batteries” by Anatoliy A. Vereshchagin, Dr. Daniil A. Lukyanov, Ilia R. Kulikov, Dr. Naitik A. Panjwani, Dr. Elena A. Alekseeva, Prof. Jan Behrends and Prof. Oleg V. Levin, 17 November 2020, Batteries and Supercaps. DOI: 10.1002/batt.202000220
Oh a lot of breakthroughs have hit the market. They’re just more incremental - a few percent better here, a few more there, etc. - so just not as sexy as a big leap. But batteries now store far more power, last far longer, and charge much faster than even 10 years ago. It’s not even close.
“Hmmmm, too bad we don’t have a government containing any folks who are actually capable of understanding science instead of screaming that we should ‘follow it’.”
That seems to be the problem with this admin. Everything can be corrected with an EO, but outside of that they know no more than just to write the EO and things will form like magic! All these “woke” people have not a clue about real life.
How do these batteries help reduce our carbon footprint if their using carbon to help stabilize the battery?
A big question in all of this is what raw materials will be needed to fabrucate them in mass production?
I’ll chime in as an engineer here with about 40 years in the energy alternative energy arenas
First of all I’m gonna break things down into two parts : science and engineering
When you see articles like this that is science
Scientists get free money to work in government labs and come up with promising ideas
Scientist get paid to write white papers and go present tgese ideas
That being said something that can be done in a laboratory setting may never ever happen in the real world
Engineering is where the rubber hits the road
If you can take a scientific discovery and turn it into a useful product that can be put out in the real world and help human beings- then you’ve really done something
That’s my opinion -but of course I’m an engineer
My final caveat is - beware scientific bull crap
There are many charlatans in this world that will use peoples lack of understanding of laws of thermodynamics for example to forget I’m into investing into Follies - they never produce anything
Everybody has heard of Solyndra I called him out right in the very beginning in 2007 when they made the big splash headlines in Fremont California with their million square-foot plant right on the 880
What was their product?
Line focus 40 sun tracking concentrators for photovoltaic system that they were supposedly going to put on commercial roofs all over the place
I said very simply at the time “ they’re never going to produce any useful product this is a complete and utter nonsense boondoggle”.
And of course it became a very famous one
Now here’s another one in 2004 there was something that came out called “Nano’s solar technology”
It’s complete another bull crap easily provable so but they have sucked up billions and billions of dollars from people who have that kind of money to throw away and waste based on absolutely no science absolutely no engineering and in 17 years now they’ve never produced ANY product
Hi just being who I am have gone in and Fattys people showing up in a suit challenge them on the stage in front of a big investor group and had them basically have security remove me from the room
I would say something along the lines of “I’ve been in the industry 15 years now can I please have a sample of your product to test?”
The same principles of skepticism apply to absolutely everything in the world if you can become a smart person
In short , don’t believe anything!!
Yep. Looking forward to it.
There has to be a parallel universe out there where everything is exactly the same as in this universe except that the cell phones are still running on triple-A batteries.
How long does it hold the charge?
BINGO! A new term will be born—charge rage!
Love them hot pickles.
Pretty much so....except for a few things...cogito, ergo sum, y’all.
.
New battery? I'm positive that's a “ Negatory, Ghost Rider. The cation is full.”
BS fakenews
The Model S - it is insane. Have not felt acceleration like that on pavement on anything with 4 wheels.
‘A battery manufactured using our polymer will charge in seconds – about ten times faster than a traditional lithium-ion battery. This has already been demonstrated through a series of experiments. However, at this stage, it is still lagging behind in terms of capacity – 30 to 40% lower than in lithium-ion batteries. We are currently working to improve this indicator while maintaining the charge-discharge rate,’ says Oleg Levin.
Sounds like a short-term breakthrough for mobile telephones and computers.
When UT Austin invented lithium ion batteries people said the same thing the numbers in regards to power density and power capacity were so far advanced from the state of the art at the time the luddites said impossible. And now two decades later 60% of the world holds in their hand a device that would not be possible without that very same “impossible” technology. People now take for granted what was science fiction not even tens years ago. Laptops, tablets, smart phones, smart watches, implanted medical devices, all not possible without YT Austin’s lithium tech that was mocked as vaporware for years guess who got the last laugh to an endowment in the BILLIONS. Luddites ALWAYS eat crow you figure they would learn eventually but never do. Technology marches on that’s how science works as a scientist you stand on the shoulders of your father’s generation and hold up your children on yours.
“same as in this universe except that the cell phones are still running on triple-A batteries”
Not possible to run a smartphone on alkaline AAA density cells the battery pack for even 1/4 the watt hour supplied would be the size of a satchel. The reason phones in the 1990s were “brick” phones was not the size of the radio transmitters which since the 1960s had be miniaturized via semiconductors the battery density was not possible at the time to pack 50whrs in a handheld sized unit. ONLY lithium ion and now lithium polymers cells have the 400+whr/kg power density to make hand held supercomputers possible. Remember those huge phones were just two way radios they didn’t have onboard supercomputer level processors or full 30fps mega pixel screens. The level of processing power and number crunching ability the avg smartphone has today is more than supercomputers of the early 1990s when handheld brick phones first came out all of that is only possible by a order of magnitude increase in power density from lead acid gel cells to lithium ion. Nickel metal hydride cells only double PbSO4 not enough to run a smart device with. The next big thing is Aluminium Ion batteries aluminium is trivalent it holds 3 times as much charge per molecule it’s power density is over 1200 whr/kg and is the only metal that has a higher power density than the hydrocarbon octane. Fully realized a AL-Ion battery has 1.5x the density of liquid hydrocarbons and a AL O2 fuel cell is 2x think 1000 mile range on a vehicle standard and 2000 miles with a extended range pack. The problem with AL ion is cycle life until recently only a few dozen cycles before dendrites short the cell out two groups claim to have solved the problem and if peers can reproduce it then AL ion will dominate the market just like lithium ion does today.
The new batteries will be standard equipment on your flying car.
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