Asphalt helps lithium batteries charge faster

[Xarog]

A touch of asphalt may be the secret to high-capacity lithium metal batteries that charge 10 to 20 times faster than commercial lithium-ion batteries, according to Rice University scientists.

The Rice lab of chemist James Tour developed anodes comprising porous carbon made from asphalt that showed exceptional stability after more than 500 charge-discharge cycles. A high-current density of 20 milliamps per square centimeter demonstrated the material's promise for use in rapid charge and discharge devices that require high-power density. The finding is reported in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano.

"The capacity of these batteries is enormous, but what is equally remarkable is that we can bring them from zero charge to full charge in five minutes, rather than the typical two hours or more needed with other batteries," Tour said.

The Tour lab previously used a derivative of asphalt—specifically, untreated gilsonite, the same type used for the battery—to capture greenhouse gases from natural gas. This time, the researchers mixed asphalt with conductive graphene nanoribbons and coated the composite with lithium metal through electrochemical deposition.

The lab combined the anode with a sulfurized-carbon cathode to make full batteries for testing. The batteries showed a high-power density of 1,322 watts per kilogram and high-energy density of 943 watt-hours per kilogram.

Testing revealed another significant benefit: The carbon mitigated the formation of lithium dendrites. These mossy deposits invade a battery's electrolyte. If they extend far enough, they short-circuit the anode and cathode and can cause the battery to fail, catch fire or explode. But the asphalt-derived carbon prevents any dendrite formation.

An earlier project by the lab found that an anode of graphene and carbon nanotubes also prevented the formation of dendrites. Tour said the new composite is simpler.

https://phys.org/news/2017-10-asphalt-lithium-batteries-faster.html

 

[Arthur]

Nice stuff. Lekker to see some progress. Hopefully will move from lab to lap within a decade.

 

[The Trutherizer]

"The capacity of these batteries is enormous"

That's an understatement.
"
117 watt-hours per kilogram: The level Tesla and Panasonic were achieving in 2008 for the Roadster
200 watt-hours per kilogram: The level Sonny Wu, Boston-Power’s CEO, says the company is achieving today
250 watt-hours per kilogram: The approximate energy density of the batteries in the Tesla S
400 watt-hours per kilogram: According to Tesla’s Elon Musk, the concept of battery-powered transcontinental airplanes becomes “compelling” once batteries hit 400 watt-hours per kilogram
400 watt-hours per kilogram: The level that battery aspirant and ARPA-E grant recipient Envia claimed it could achieve"

On a side note Bosch has also claimed it will have 400 Wh/kg available by 2020.

So that's as high as they believed Li-Ion can go in the near future. These new, also lithium based, batteries are more than twice as energy dense. I do believe we'll see electric cars with 2000km+ charge range in the next decade. And if they can charge in a few minutes as is claimed here... Well - All complaints will cease. Finally! I suppose all apart from the old "electric cars run on coal power so it's just as dirty" chestnut - Hint it is much, much more efficient than burning your own bit of refined oil in a teeny little engine that radiates heat like a squirrel on Ecstasy.

Notice something?.. Tesla Roadster 2008 - 117Wh/kg
4 years later the Model S launches 2012 - 250Wh/kg (+33Wh/kg/year)
8 years later 2020 the first 400Wh/kg will likely hit the market (+19Wh/kg/year)
And now even before that a fast charging 900+Wh/kg disruptive tech is developed. More than double as energy dense as is needed to make transcontinental electric planes "compelling". Assuming it hits the market in 2022 that will be (+272Wh/kg/year) A tech that completely eliminates lithium dendrite formation. Easier to manufacture! Great battery life.

Progress!

I mean to put it in perspective 943Wh/kg is almost a full municipal unit of electric energy per kg of battery. That's insane. A kg battery is not even all that big. You'll be able to hold it in one hand easily. You could power a 1000W electric drill for almost an hour nonstop with that. Now imagine you put a 1000W electric drill motor on something like a bicycle. I checked and the highest rated electric bicycle I can find has a 3kg 500wh battery and it can take you anywhere between 50 and 100km depending on how you gun it. Takes 4h to charge.

People can say what they want but progress in battery technology is real! Most people's opinions on batteries are still based on 2005 thinking and the fact that phones do not keep a charge much longer than they did in 2005 (while they are obviously using a hell of a lot more power than they did back then). And we have not seen the end. Mark my words. This is only the beginning. The next one will be greater than 1 unit/kg - Finally a metric people can more easily relate to.

 

[Arthur]

Thanks for that nice exposition, TT.

/Looks wistfully at 48 x 105Ah lead-acid batts in the Utility Room.

 

[The Trutherizer]

Thanks for that nice exposition, TT.

/Looks wistfully at 48 x 105Ah lead-acid batts in the Utility Room.

Haha. Went a bit overboard. Couldn't help it though. It excites me so much for the future. I just hope this tech can make it to the market and mass production quickly. 12V?