Conductor discovery reduces lithium ion battery fire risk
The battery uses rock salt Lithium Borohydride (LiBH4), a well-known organic chemical that has been considered for batteries before, but up to now has only worked at high temperatures or pressures.
In the journal APL Materials, from AIP Publishing, the researchers describe how they doped a cubic lattice of KI molecules with the LiBH4 to allow them to stabilize the high-pressure form of Lithium borohydride and make a solid solution at normal atmospheric pressure that was stable at room temperature.
Synthesis of cubic LiBH4 at ambient pressure and Parasitic Conduction Mechanism exhibited in KI – LiBH4 solid solution.
Image: Hitoshi Takamura/Tohoku Univ.
In making the new technology, the team discovered that the Li+ ions functioned like pure Li+ ion conductors, even though they were just doping the KI lattices. This is the reverse of the normal doping technique, in which a small amount of stabilizing element would be added to an ionic conductor abundant in Lithium.
"LiBH4 is a sort of ‘parasite’ but not a host material," said Hitoshi Takamura who led the research at Tohoku University and dubbed the mechanism ‘parasitic conduction’.
"This work suggests the potential of this mechanism in the ongoing search for the perfect material for use in solid state batteries," added Takamura. "The urgency of this quest has been abundantly clear after the grounding of so many aircraft in recent months."
Reference
The article ‘Synthesis of Rock-Salt Type Lithium Borohydride and Its Peculiar Li+ Ion Conduction Properties’ is authored by R. Miyazaki, H. Maekawa and H. Takamura.
Related articles and links:
https://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/aplmater/2/5/10.1063/1.4876638
News articles:
Dual carbon battery charges 20x faster than lithium-ion batteries
Internet of Things spur on solid-state battery advance
Fiber supercapacitor aims to power wearable devices
If you enjoyed this article, you will like the following ones: don't miss them by subscribing to :
