Researchers from University of Michigan make a new battery technology that will be able to prevent the kind of fires that grounded Boeing 787 Dreamliners in 2013.
The researchers have created a battery with advanced barriers between the electrodes in a lithium-ion battery. This special barrier is made with nanofibers extracted from Kevlar, the tough material in bulletproof vests, stifles the growth of metal tendrils that can become unwanted pathways for eletric current.
Elegus Technologies, founded by a U-M team of researchers, will bring this "bulletproof" battery from the lab to market. Mass production is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2016. As stated in Michigan News Nicholas Kotov, Joseph B. and Florence V. Cejka Professor of Engineering said,"Unlike other strong materials such as carbon nanotubes, Kevlar is an insulator. This property is perfect for separators that need to prevent shorting between two electrodes."
Lithium-ion batteries work by shuttling lithium ions from one electrode to the other. This creates a charge imbalance, and since electrons can't go through the membrane between the electrodes, they go through a circuit instead and do something useful on the way.
But the lithium atoms can build themselves into a fern-like structure called dendrites and penetrate through the membrane, if the holes in the membrane are big enough. If these atoms reach the other electrode then the electrons have this alternate pathway thus shorting out the circuit. This was also the reason that is thought to have started the battery fires in Boeing 787.
"The fern shape is particularly difficult to stop because of its nanoscale tip", said Siu On Tung, Chief Technology Officer at Elegus, according to Michigan News. "It was very important that the fibers formed smaller pores than the tip size."
The researchers made this membrane by layering the fibers on top of each other in thin sheets. This method keeps the chain-like molecules in the plastic stretched out which is important for good lithium-ion conductivity between the electrodes. "The special feature of this material is we can make it very thin, so we can get more energy into the same battery cell size, or even shrink the cell size," said Dan VanderLey, an engineer who helped found Elegus.
Kevlar's heat resistance could also lead to safer batteries as the membrane stands a better chance of surviving a fire than most membranes used today. Although the membrane developed by U-M researchers can stop the lithium dendrites, they are currently looking for ways to improve the flow of loose lithium ions so that batteries can charge and release their energy more quickly.
Source: Michigan News
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The researchers have created a battery with advanced barriers between the electrodes in a lithium-ion battery. This special barrier is made with nanofibers extracted from Kevlar, the tough material in bulletproof vests, stifles the growth of metal tendrils that can become unwanted pathways for eletric current.
Elegus Technologies, founded by a U-M team of researchers, will bring this "bulletproof" battery from the lab to market. Mass production is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2016. As stated in Michigan News Nicholas Kotov, Joseph B. and Florence V. Cejka Professor of Engineering said,"Unlike other strong materials such as carbon nanotubes, Kevlar is an insulator. This property is perfect for separators that need to prevent shorting between two electrodes."
Lithium-ion batteries work by shuttling lithium ions from one electrode to the other. This creates a charge imbalance, and since electrons can't go through the membrane between the electrodes, they go through a circuit instead and do something useful on the way.
But the lithium atoms can build themselves into a fern-like structure called dendrites and penetrate through the membrane, if the holes in the membrane are big enough. If these atoms reach the other electrode then the electrons have this alternate pathway thus shorting out the circuit. This was also the reason that is thought to have started the battery fires in Boeing 787.
"The fern shape is particularly difficult to stop because of its nanoscale tip", said Siu On Tung, Chief Technology Officer at Elegus, according to Michigan News. "It was very important that the fibers formed smaller pores than the tip size."
The researchers made this membrane by layering the fibers on top of each other in thin sheets. This method keeps the chain-like molecules in the plastic stretched out which is important for good lithium-ion conductivity between the electrodes. "The special feature of this material is we can make it very thin, so we can get more energy into the same battery cell size, or even shrink the cell size," said Dan VanderLey, an engineer who helped found Elegus.
Kevlar's heat resistance could also lead to safer batteries as the membrane stands a better chance of surviving a fire than most membranes used today. Although the membrane developed by U-M researchers can stop the lithium dendrites, they are currently looking for ways to improve the flow of loose lithium ions so that batteries can charge and release their energy more quickly.
Source: Michigan News
HOPE YOU LIKED THIS POST TOO.....PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT IN THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW AND SHARE YOUR VIEWS WITH US.
SHARE THIS POST
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