IMAGE: Utah University of Utah chemical engineering professor Tao Gao has learned more about the nature of lithium-ion batteries that can lead to batteries that recharge much faster than before. view more
Credit: Vincent Horiuchi / University of Utah College of Engineering
March 24, 2021 – Perhaps the worst limitation of owning an all-electric car is how long it takes to fully charge the battery. For Tesla, for example, it will take about 40 minutes to enable 80% deployment using the most powerful charging station.
Scientists have long believed that the laws of physics limit how fast you can safely recharge a battery, but new research by Utah University chemical engineering support professor Tao Gao , has opened the door to create a rechargeable battery in just a fraction of the time.
Gao’s study was explained in detail in a new paper published in the scientific journal Joule. The study was conducted while Gao was a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the direction of MIT chemical engineering professor Martin Z. Bazant. Gao is now doing that research at the University of Utah where he is developing more advanced lithium-ion batteries that are capable of fast charging.
“This understanding lays the foundation for the future engineering work needed to address this challenge,” says Gao. “Now we know where to go. We have a clear vision of what needs to be done. ”
Lithium-ion batteries have become a popular choice for portable electronics and all-electric vehicles due to their high energy density, low weight and long life. They will also be used in laptops, portable electrical appliances and for solar energy storage.
But as soon as a lithium-ion battery can recharge it it is blocked by a phenomenon known as “lithium plating,” a side reaction that occurs when lithium ions are placed in graphite grains too quickly. Gao compares the operation of a lithium-ion battery to a ping pong ball hitting it back and forth on board. The ball, or lithium-ion, travels from the positive electrode to the negative electrode through the charging process. The cost level is similar to how fast the ball travels. Lithium plating occurs when the lithium ion moves too fast and when the graphite grains in the battery leave it trapped, Gao explains. While charging, this can be dangerous and cause the battery to fire or explode, thus limiting as soon as batteries can be recharged. It can also severely damage the battery, limiting its life.
Gao’s discovery highlights the important physics that regulates the lithium plating in graphite grains during battery charge and enables the prediction of lithium plating in battery operation.
“We designed a test that can show what happens to the negative electrode at the time of charging. We can see the graphite glass – the material in the negative electrode – and see what happens during the charge of a battery in real time,” he says. . “Now we understand the physics. This will guide us to address this limitation and improve battery reduction performance.”
Gao believes that, with this new understanding, new technologies could create a potentially charged car battery five times faster than normal, or in just over 10 minutes, without any risk or risk declining too soon, he says. Smartphones, which typically take more than half an hour with the fastest charger, could be fully charged in just 10 minutes, he says.
Now that Gao and his fellow researchers have a better grasp of the science behind lithium-ion charging, he believes we could see better battery-powered cell phones in as little as three to five years and on electric cars in as fast as five. to 10 years.
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