Asphalt Batteries Charge Faster, Last Longer

Oct-03-17 Adding asphalt to anodes could pave the way to more reliable and faster-charging batteries.

The new technology, from a team at Rice University, relies on combining untreated gilsonite (an asphalt derivative) with conductive graphene nanoribbons, then coating the composite with lithium metal. When the new anode was combined with a sulfurized-carbon cathode, the resulting battery showed a high-power density of 1,322 watts per kg and an energy density of 943 watt-hours per kg.

Additionally, the asphalt batteries help reduce the growth of lithium dendrites, and the new batteries can charge up to 20 times faster than their conventional lithium-ion counterparts.

Image: Scanning electron microscope images show an anode of asphalt, graphene nanoribbons and lithium at left and the same material without lithium at right.

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[NEWATLAS.COM]
[NEWS.RICE.EDU]

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