Porous Lithium-Ion Battery Charges in Ten Minutes
Feb-14-13
Using porous silicon nano-wires, researchers have developed a lithium-ion battery able to charge in ten minutes and hold three times more energy than current batteries. Researches have tried to use silicon (which is inexpensive and has a high storage capacity) in battery anodes before, but the material would break from the repeated swelling and contracting during battery charging. The new battery, created by a team at the University of Southern California, consists of porous silicon nano-wire less than 100 nanometers across and only a few microns long. The pores allow the silicon to expand and contract without breaking and also increase the surface area, which allows the lithium-ions to move through the battery more quickly.
The wires were difficult to manufacture in large quantities, though, so the team etched the pores into commercially available nano-particles of silicon spheres, which can be mass produced. The new batteries may be on the market in as little as two years.
Image: Alessandro Paiva
Add Your Comment