You can thank “dendrites” when your smartphone battery goes from a solid 40 percent charge to completely dead in a matter of 20 minutes. Thankfully, researchers out of Purdue University are researching these dendrites – otherwise known as the slayer of lithium-ion batteries – and developing something that could greatly improve the li-ion.
Dendrites work to destroy lithium-ion batteries by forming an anode electrode and growing until they affect battery performance – potentially resulting in complete battery failure.
The new study out of Purdue University explores this issue with the intention of creating a safer and longer-lasting lithium-ion battery that could be charged within minutes instead of hours.
Researches used numerical modeling to find ways to understand the dendrites and design better insulating polymers separators.
“We are trying to define the fundamental science behind these complex objects so that in collaboration with experimentalists we can make batteries that do not have this problem,” said R. Edwin García, an associate professor of materials engineering at Purdue University.
In order to design better separators, researchers have modeled how pore size and morphology of the separator influence dendrite development. From this, they found that there were relationships between the geometry of the separator and its performance.
This from Purdue University:
One approach to potentially solve the problem is to induce lithium to grow uniformly and relatively flat instead of heterogeneously and pointed. The heterogeneous growth means the dendrites would sprout unevenly at various locations on the anode’s surface. If they could be induced to grow uniformly and in a more controlled manner, the battery could be designed to accommodate this growth, preventing formations from reaching the cathode.
The researchers hope to take this discovery and transform it into a complete commercial development.
ECS has two upcoming meetings where you can network with the brightest minds in electrochemical and solid state science to share results and discuses issues in battery technology. Make sure to attend the 227th ECS Meeting in May and the Glasgow Conference in July!
While you’re waiting for those meetings to roll around, get your battery fix by heading over to our Digital Library and reading some of the best research in battery.
