Nano-Structured Tin Alloy Offers Better Batteries

Nov-04-17 An inexpensive new tin-aluminum alloy could open the door to smaller lithium-ion batteries with more storage capacity.

The alloy, from a team at the University of Texas, was developed using a simplified coating process that allows the tin to be added to the aluminum as it is cast. This results in a material that can be mechanically rolled to create nanostructured metal foils. The nanometer-sized tin particles are integral to the final result, Karl Kreder explains, since the tin particles must be very small “so they will not break apart during the alloying.”

The resulting material, called an interdigitated eutectic alloy (IdEA) anode, is much smaller than traditional anode material, yet able to demonstrate twice the storage of a standard copper-graphite anode.

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[NEWATLAS.COM]
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