Researchers in Saudi Arabia have found that adding nylon—the stuff of stockings, ropes and umbrellas—to a new type of battery technology boosts its performance, extends its life, and enhances safety. The team of materials scientists and engineers published their work in two new studies published in ACS Energy Letters and Energy & Environmental Science.
Batteries are one of the workhorses of an increasingly digital, electrified world. Lithium-ion batteries are today’s main energy storage technology. But scientists are working on many next-generation technologies in the search for better performance.
One of the new chemistries is lithium-metal. Lithium-metal batteries ditch the carbon-based anode of conventional lithium-ion batteries for one made of lithium. They pack more energy in the same weight, promising electric vehicles that are lighter and go longer distances.
But they suffer from an issue that limits their safety and lifetime. Their electrolytes can be instable, and during the course of a battery’s chemical reactions, lithium metal can form spiky deposits called dendrites on the electrode surface. This can cause short-circuiting, which reduces and the battery’s efficiency and lifetime, and can also increase the risk of overheating.
To prevent these issues, researchers often use additives to make the battery interface stable and reduce inefficiency. And the researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology have found that nylon could play the role of such an additive.
The researchers were able to dissolve nylon into a battery’s electrolyte using mild solvents. This “circumvents the need for corrosive and toxic acids,” the team writes in the paper.
The molecular reactions of nylon with the battery materials reduces unwanted chemical reactions, prevents dendrites and improved efficiency, and longer battery lifespans. The researchers say that the work marks “a significant advancement in the development of cheaper, safer and more efficient battery additives.”
Sources: Zhao, Z. et al. New Dissolution Chemistry of Nylon Promises Reversible Li-Metal Batteries. ACS Energy Letters; Zhao, Z. et al. Nylon electrolyte chemistry in high-energy Li-metal batteries. Energy & Environmental Science
Image ©Anthropocene Magazine
Our work is available free of charge and advertising. We rely on readers like you to keep going. Donate Today