new material charges up lithium-ion battery work. (bigger, cheaper, safer batteries).

A metal-
Spiced minerals can lead to cheaper batteries for mobile phones and laptops.
The researchers will use this new material to make lithium.
The positive pole of the ion battery should also be safe enough to make large light batteries for power
Hungry hybrid electric cars and electric tools. Lithium-
More than 10 years ago, Sony\'s first ion battery was now widely used as a convenient, lightweight and rechargeable power supply for mobile phones, laptops and some other gadgets.
But the positive or cathode of the battery is usually made of lithium cobalt oxide, which is expensive and requires an electronic circuit to prevent the device from overheating when charging (SN: 12/16/00, p. 399).
This risk also limits the size of the battery.
In 1997, researchers at the University of Texas in Austin proposed a new cathode material, lithium iron phosphate, which is cheaper and safer than lithium cobalt oxide.
However, there is a big problem with lithium iron phosphate: low electronic conductivity. Now, Yet-
Jiang Ming and his colleagues at MIT added lithium iron phosphate with a small amount of metal ions ---
For example, aluminum, nb and zirconium--
In a process called doping
Jiang said that the electronic conductivity of the doping material is 10 million times that of the unaltered lithium iron phosphate, which is equivalent to the traditional cathode material.
He and his colleagues reported their findings in Nature Materials in October.
\"The increase in conductivity they see is significant,\" commented Linda F . \"
Nazar, University of Waterloo, Ontario.
\"It has no other words.
\"When Jiang recently presented the work to other scientists working on lithium --
Ion battery, \"You know, \'Wow, \'\" reports Ralph broad of Broddarp, Nevada, battery
Consulting firm in Nev Henderson.
The cathode made of this new material may reduce the price of small lithium
Ion batteries, says George Blomgren, an electrochemist at Blomgren consulting services in Lakewood, Ohio.
In addition, the development of safer cathode materials may solve problems encountered by researchers in the manufacture of large lithium
It\'s an ion battery, says Blomgren.
These will replace heavier nickel.
Metal hydrogen compounds commonly used in hybrid electric vehicles.
The performance and safety of the new cathode material is \"you need to make a good, low thing\"
Cost battery, \"added Brodd.
The material needs some technical details now.
Tune before it is incorporated into the battery for testing.
But if further development goes well, batteries using this new cathode material may be available in 2 to 3 years, Jiang said.