Battery Tech has High Potential
Everyone wants a better battery. From handheld gadgets to the green energy of the future, many technologies hinge on finding a reusable, cheap, long-lasting power storage device.
Thanks to researchers at UW lead by Prof. Linda Nazar, new potential has been found in a chemical reaction that has been studied for 20 years, bringing an exciting development to the quest for the next generation of battery.
Lithium-sulphur batteries have long been known to have very high potential energy storage capacities for their weight in theory, much higher than currently-used lithium-ion batteries. Unfortunately, actually exploiting the reactions between lithium ions and sulphur is challenging for many reasons. For one, sulphur does not conduct electricity, so attempting to use it directly as the positive electrode means that not much charge will flow. Another problem is that chemicals called polysulphides, produced in the middle of the reaction, can escape the positive electrode and become attached to the negative one. This leads to a reduction in battery life since these molecules do not contribute to energy storage in subsequent recharging.
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