The most promising and widely used material in the world of technology has been lithium. This year the price of lithium has plummeted, being 73% cheaper than a decade ago due to overproduction and the large number of batteries made of other elements. However, a new Korean study once again puts lithium batteries in the spotlight, extending their useful life with a very simple element.

The investigation. A group of engineers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has achieved Extend battery life by 750%. To do this, the study has used water as the only solvent in the lithium metal anodes.

In collaboration with Ajou University, the project has managed to maintain 93.3% of the capacity in lithium batteries after more than 300 charge and discharge cycles.

The reason. The research is based on the limitations in the performance of conventional batteries, which usually have a shorter useful life and there is a risk of fire. However, the group of engineers led by Professor Il-Doo Kim has resolved the problem stabilizing the growth of lithium.

More in depth. The KAIST team has created a protective layer using hollow nanofibers, manufactured through an electronic spinning (electrospinning) process. In the development of this method, guar gum was used, a material extracted from plants and water is used as the only solvent, which once in the soil decomposes within a month. In this way, hollow nanofibers make it possible to stabilize chemical reactions and control the growth of lithium physically, avoiding the disordered accumulation of ions on the surface of the anode.

Won’t there be problems with the water? Unlike other conventional technologies, this method uses environmentally friendly resources. However, the use of water as a solvent can be considered a problem due to water problems and is increasingly a limited resource.

Other methods that are similar. A Princeton University study has developed a technology that allows discarded lithium-ion batteries to be rejuvenated by up to 95%, using a low-temperature plasma-assisted separation method. Unlike the project presented by the group of Korean researchers that increases useful life, this one injects life back into unused batteries.

Image | Unsplash

techopiniones | China has learned to extract lithium from the sea without wasting energy: a discovery that could cover all global demand