tin: the secret to improving lithium-ion battery life

For consumers, poor battery life and the need to charge their smartphones is still a huge pain.
May be helpful.
Researchers at Washington State University said Wednesday they had figured out how to put more energy into lithium --
Ion battery, increase the charging speed.
Grant Norton says the trick is to replace graphite with tin as an anode, one of the two main components of the battery, who is the head of the research and a professor of mechanical and material engineering at the University.
Using tin can nearly triple the battery\'s energy storage capacity, he said.
When you charge the battery, the lithium ion moves from the cathode to the anode, which holds the lithium ion to the anode to store energy.
When you use the battery, the lithium ion moves from the anode to the cathode and releases the electrons in the process.
To increase the energy density of the battery, many companies are working on better cathode or anode materials.
Some companies are also working to improve other parts of the battery to increase the life of the battery or minimize overheating problems that may cause fire.
By the way, Battery refers to the traditional AA battery and other products in the flash.
On the other hand, a battery pack or system, usually refers to a stack of batteries that have been packaged and equipped with electronic devices to manage their charging and discharging, and monitor their temperature and performance.
For example, an electric car has a complex battery system.
Research in Washington state focuses on the anode, which is usually made of graphite.
The price of graphite is cheap, the performance is stable, and the process of using graphite as anode is well understood by everyone.
Scientists already know that other materials can hold more lithium ions and increase the energy that can be encapsulated into the battery.
But there are several key obstacles to using these alternative materials: finding the right nano-structures to catch these lithium ions best, trouble-
Address potential issues that may affect battery performance and propose a cheap manufacturing process to make these materials into batteries.
For example, silicon can hold a lot more lithium ion than graphite, but it is very unstable in the battery environment and can shorten the life of the battery.
However, the commitment to significantly increase the energy density of batteries using silicon attracts a lot of research and investment.
Tin is better than graphite, but not as good as Silicon in keeping lithium ion.
But using tin can prove to be a faster way to improve battery performance.
At least Norton began to prove it.
For example, Sony mixed tin with other materials for some lithium-ion batteries.
After some experiments, Norton decided to plant tin in the form of a needle (
About 50 nanometers in length)
And add texture to the material to create more surface area.
A larger surface area means more lithium-ion capabilities.
\"It\'s like when water is absorbed into the cellular structure of the sponge.
\"You want a lot of surface area to absorb a lot of water,\" Norton said . \".
In the process of cheap manufacturing, Norton turned to electroplating, which has existed for more than a century and is used to coat various materials.
The idea is to coat the tin material on a conductive copper part.
Now, before connecting to this copper current collector, the graphite must be mixed with the bonding material.
Placing tin directly on a copper sheet will reduce manufacturing steps and costs, Norton said.
Of course, changing an idea from a lab to a commercial product is usually a long and expensive process.
In this process, companies often need to make a lot of changes.
Norton wants to get the attention of the battery manufacturer or investor and try his ideas.