Beyond lithium battery -- the concept of battery in the future

 

 

Preface

The development of mobile technology depends on the durability of batteries , This is what most people know , Because we charge our mobile devices every night . Portable lithium ion battery , Cost effective and rechargeable , And compared with the next generation of commercial chemical batteries , It can provide higher energy density , It is the main way of power supply for mobile devices nowadays . But unfortunately , Lithium ion battery technology was developed in the last century 70 It was developed in the 1970s , After years of development, it is now close to its theoretical limit . Lithium battery technology lags behind the development of mobile technology , This is not only reflected in charging at night every day , It is also reflected in the latest electronic products .

 

therefore , To solve the problem of backward battery technology , So that the existing electronic products can have a longer running time , Including wireless charging and mobile battery box . Although scientists have been looking for better batteries , But now the matter has become more urgent , Because the backward battery technology not only limits the consumption of electronic products , It also limits the electric vehicle industry and some clean energy programs . 2013 year 11 month , The U.S. Department of energy has even launched a 1.2 A billion dollar plan , In the 5 Within this year, we will develop battery technology to change the rules of the game , This technology will improve the durability of the battery 5 times . This push has led to a series of scientific research initiatives , Next, we will talk about some future battery concepts so that you can further understand the development of batteries .

 

Tin nanocrystalline lithium ion battery

Batteries convert chemical energy into electrical energy by sharing common carrier electrons . Today's lithium-ion batteries remove lithium ions from the cathode （ Anode ） Send to positive （ The cathode ） To generate electricity , During the charging process, the opposite is true . The electrodes of conventional lithium batteries are usually made of cobalt , Graphite , Made of manganese or nickel , And will not absorb all Li ion .

Tin is a better electrode , But when absorbing ions , The size of the tin crystal may increase three times , When releasing ions , Tin crystals shrink , It's like a sponge . In response to volume changes , Scientists at the Federal Institute of technology in Zurich and the inorganic chemistry laboratory in enpa are developing a nano material made of tiny tin crystals , The nano material can effectively absorb and release lithium ions , Thus, the energy capacity of the battery is doubled .

 

Metal air battery

The principle of metal air battery is , Its metal electrodes and oxygen in the air （ Not electrolyte ） React , Generate electricity . The most promising materials for metal air battery electrodes seem to be lithium and sodium , But aluminum and zinc electrodes have also been studied . In fact, zinc air batteries have been sold on the market , Mainly used for hearing aids .

Although the research and development of lithium air battery is still in its infancy , But this technology is the most promising , The theoretical performance specific energy is higher than that of lithium ion battery 5 to 10 times , And it is particularly attractive to the electric vehicle industry . for example , Lithium air batteries can provide 1000 Miles of endurance , And in the same volume , The average level of existing lithium-ion batteries is 125 miles .

 

The theoretical energy density of sodium air battery is lower than that of lithium air battery , But more stable than today's lithium-ion batteries , Easier to make , More efficient at the same time . The test of sodium air battery also shows that , Compared with lithium air , They may have higher actual energy storage capacity .

 

Liquid metal battery

Created by the Massachusetts Institute of technology , And supported by Bill Gates Ambri Developed a battery , This kind of battery uses molten salt sandwiched between two layers of liquid metal as electrolyte , Through the composition difference between liquid metal electrodes （ One low-density negative electrode and another high-density positive electrode ） generate voltage . Ambri It is also a high-risk early stage of the U.S. Department of energy ARPA-E Planned 690 The recipient of the $million grant , The goal is to apply this technology to energy storage in power grid , To make the energy system more efficient .

 

More new battery concepts

Other new battery concepts include energy density, which is one of today's lithium-ion batteries 3 to 5 Times Li-sulpher, Besides high energy density, the sugar powered bio battery is also very green , These are one of the new battery concepts being developed . The next generation of electrochemical batteries is a technology competition , See which battery technology will replace lithium-ion batteries , Anyway , Consumers will certainly benefit from it .

 

Original address ：https://www.mouser.com/applications/low_power_beyond_lithium/?utm_source=traceparts&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=3p-21.0511-techapp-energyharvesting-tc