The use of MRI to directly observe metal-ion dissolution in lithium battery cathodes

There is enormous promise in how this technique can increase the ability to understand how reactions within these batteries work and how to test alternate battery technology

19-Feb-2025 - Many of the devices that make modern life convenient and efficient rely on rechargeable batteries. Lithium-ion batteries, one of the more common types used, are low cost and work at a high operating voltage, which makes them ideal for many electronic devices and electric vehicles. However, they ...

Machine learning accelerates the chase for safer, better batteries

Faster and more cost-effective development of new solid-state electrolyte materials

04-Jun-2024 - As the clean transition drives uptake of electric vehicles and energy storage for an electricity grid with ever greater dependence on variable renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, the danger from battery fires grows as well. To limit this risk while improving battery performance, the ...

Improving sodium ion batteries with mechanically robust nanocellular graphene

16-Apr-2024 - Ever since its discovery in 2004, graphene has been revolutionizing the field of materials science and beyond. Graphene comprises two-dimensional sheets of carbon atoms, bonded into a thin hexagonal shape with a thickness of one atom layer. This gives it remarkable physical and chemical ...

Drawing inspiration from plants: A metal-air paper battery for wearable devices

"Not only did the battery demonstrate impressive performance results, it operates without using toxic materials"

08-Apr-2024 - For over two millennia, paper has been a staple of human civilization. But these days, the usage of paper is not limited to writing. It is also playing a pivotal role in ushering in a greener future. Lightweight and thin paper-based devices help reduce dependence on metal or plastic materials, ...

Micro-engineered electrodes could cut battery manufacturing costs

"As 3D printers gain increasing resolution, sodium ion batteries could eventually outperform lithium ion ones"

09-Aug-2022 - New, easily fabricated, high performance carbon microlattice electrodes could soon be used to make cheaper batteries powered by readily available sodium ions. The approach was published by Tohoku University researchers and colleagues in the journal Small. Lithium ion batteries are used in a wide ...

A 4 V-class metal-free organic lithium-ion battery gets closer to reality

High-voltage environmentally friendly organic lithium-ion batteries

19-Apr-2022 - A joint research team from Tohoku University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has made a significant advancement towards high-voltage metal-free lithium-ion batteries that use a small organic molecule, croconic acid. The breakthrough moves us closer to realizing metal-free, ...

Harnessing sea pineapples and blood waste for metal-air-battery catalysts

“We could utilize two industrial waste products - ones that have historically been difficult to dispose of - and applied them to produce green hydrogen”

11-Feb-2022 - Sea pineapples, an edible ascidian, are a delicacy in Japan. The Tohoku region is famed for its sea pineapple production - known as hoya in Japanese. Now, a research group has established a new use for the scores of sea pineapple shells that get discarded every year. Led by professor Hiroshi ...

High-rate magnesium rechargeable batteries move one step closer to realization

26-Aug-2021 - Magnesium rechargeable batteries (MRBs), where high-capacity Mg metal is used as the anode material, are promising candidates for next-generation batteries due to their energy density, safety, and cost. However, the lack of high-performance cathode materials impedes their development. Like their ...

Scanning the surface of lithium titanate

07-Jul-2017 - Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tohoku University and the University of Tokyo have applied advanced scanning methods to visualize the previously unexplored surface of a superconductor: lithium titanate (LiTi2O4). LiTi2O4 is the only known example of a so-called spinel oxide ...

Waste silicon sawdust recycled into anode for lithium-ion battery

23-Feb-2017 - Researchers have created a high performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) using waste silicon (Si) sawdust. It is energy-consuming and expensive to produce Si wafers with high purity (> 99.99%). On top of that, some 50% of Si is actually discarded as industrial waste in the ...