New aluminium battery might revolutionize the smartphone industry. Researchers have managed to create a battery that charges in less than a minute and lasts more than the average batteries on the market.
People have become addicted to their smart phones and tablets and feel a constant need to always have them fully functional while carrying them. Funny enough, we have arrived to feel incomplete without them. So news about improving their functionality are always exciting.
Soon, we will no longer have to wait for tens of minutes, even hours for our devices to charge, as the newly developed battery made out of aluminum can be replaced in just a few seconds. Researchers came up with a new type of battery which they claim it is much safer and environment friendly.
Standard batteries based on alkaline are harmful for the environment and the lithium-ion based ones that are the main batteries used for smart phones and laptops can take ages to fully charge and present the risk of burning, explained chemistry professors at Stanford University, Hongjie Dai.
But all of these factors can become a matter of the past after researchers from the Stanford University have come up with the very first battery on aluminum that presents all the qualities we can imagine. The new battery promises to charge extremely fast, has a high life and it doesn’t cost a lot of money.
Another great thing about the invention, is that is bendable, meaning it can be used for the newly developed devices that can bend. The chances for the new battery to burst into flames are minimal, explained researchers. The battery can be folded or bended without any problem.
For years, scientists have tried unsuccessfully to develop workable aluminum based batteries, main reason being the fact that this metal, while very cheap, also presents very low flammable risks and charges very fast. A critical factor was managing to find materials that could create enough voltage after they have been charged and discharged plenty of times.
An aluminum based battery contains two electrodes, out of which one is charged positively and another is charged negatively.
Researchers have stated that they have made an accidental discovery that showed them that graphite or carbon was the solution. During their study, they managed to identify that certain forms of graphite can provide a good performance.
The study has shown that this new type of battery can be drilled trough and this wouldn’t stop the battery for continuing to work for a short amount of time and bursting into flames is out of the question.
On the other hand, lithium based batteries can start bursting all of the sudden, no matter where they are.
Safety is not the only accomplishment of the study, but the performance and durability showed by the battery as well.
So far the aluminium batteries created by other research centers have lasted only 100 cycles of charge and discharge, but the one developed by the Stanford scientists has successfully reached 7,500 cycles without its capacity being affected.
This was the first ever breakthrough in this field that was accomplished successfully. The standard lithium-ion based battery has a life span of around 1,000 cycles.
The downside of the research, is the fact that the aluminum battery can only generate up to two volts of electricity, which still, is the biggest that has ever been accomplished with aluminum. Two volts, means around half of the voltage that a standard lithium battery produces. However, this matter will be solved with further studies.
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