Finally Up and Running
Silicon-air batteries are viewed as a promising and cost-effective alternative to current energy storage technology. However, they have thus far only achieved relatively short running times. Jülich researchers have now discovered why.
In theory, silicon-air batteries have a much higher energy density and are also smaller and lighter than current lithium-ion batteries. They are also environmentally friendly and insensitive to external influences. Their most important advantage, however, is their material. Silicon is the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust after oxygen: it is cheap and its reserves are practically inexhaustible.
However, the silicon-air battery does still have a few crucial blemishes: for example, the flow of current stops after a relatively short period of time. Only assumptions have been made thus far as to why this is the case: does a protective layer form spontaneously on the silicon anode? Is the electrolyte at all suitable? Is there a problem with the air electrode? Attempts to rectify this problem by improving the components have proven to be less than successful. The best result was achieved through the use of a special, high-quality electrolyte based on an ionic liquid. This helped increase the battery’s running time to several hundred hours, but contradicted the fundamental idea of the battery: to provide a cost-effective alternative to lithium-ion batteries.
Scientists at Jülich’s Institute of Energy and Climate Research (IEK) suspect another cause for the short running time: the consumption of the electrolyte. As part of the AlSiBat project funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the researchers developed a pump system in which the electrolyte fluid – potassium hydroxide dissolved in water – was refilled from time to time. “If the silicon anode remains in contact with the electrolyte, the battery will continue running,” explains Hermann Tempel from the IEK’s Fundamental Electrochemistry. The battery is thus able to achieve a running time of over 1,100 hours, or almost 46 days, he adds. “Until the silicon is fully used up. The battery can subsequently be recharged by exchanging the anode, in other words mechanically.”
The scientists are now looking for a way to keep the battery running without having to refill the electrolyte. “We need to stop the battery from self-discharging,” explains Hermann Tempel, noting how this leads to the electrolyte fluid being used up. Additives in the electrolyte could help here, he says. “The battery is not yet perfect, but we now know what we have to work on.”
Learn more: Finally Up and Running
The Latest on: Silicon-air battery
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Silicon-air battery” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Silicon-air battery
- Hurry! Apple’s new M3 MacBook Air laptop has got its first major price cut - and the M2 model is cheaper as wellon March 28, 2024 at 8:01 am
Apple ’s MacBook Air laptops are some of the best laptops in the business, and the recently released M3 version has just got its first big price cut - less than a month after release! You can knock ...
- Why you should buy a MacBook Pro instead of a MacBook Airon March 28, 2024 at 4:30 am
The MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 14 are great laptops, with just $300 separating the two with the base M3 chipset. The MacBook Pro 14 is worth the extra cash.
- All the ways Intel Macs are still better than Apple Silicon Macson March 27, 2024 at 7:30 am
MacBooks are pretty amazing these days. Thanks to the efficiency of Apple Silicon, you get all-day battery life, as well as the ability to edit videos when unplugged from power. The new MacBook Air ...
- How Lithium–Silicon Technology Breathes New Life Into Lithium-Ion Batterieson March 26, 2024 at 2:58 pm
Solid-state batteries may be the next big thing, but this American company believes there's still tremendous potential in lithium-ion batteries.
- Amprius Technologies: Buy The Silicon Anode Innovations Poised For Rapid Growthon March 26, 2024 at 12:18 pm
Amprius Technologies, a leader in battery technology using silicon anode lithium-ion design, is expanding production capacity. Learn more about AMPX stock here.
- Apple’s New MacBook Air M3 Proves It’s Still a Great Buyon March 25, 2024 at 11:36 am
Our tech experts put the new MacBook Air with M3 chip through rigorous testing and found that it is still the best laptop on the market. Read the full review.
- Advancing Lithium-Ion Battery Technology: The Role of Silane in Silicon-Based Anode Materialson March 20, 2024 at 11:25 am
In the midst of the energy transformation taking place around the world, lithium-ion batteries stand as pivotal components for both electric vehicles ...
- Apple MacBook Air With M3 Chip Review: More Power and Versatility, Same Priceon March 19, 2024 at 1:15 pm
The M3 chip has 5 billion more transistors — a hefty 25% increase — than the Apple M2 with 5-nanometer architecture, which makes the new MacBook Air more powerful without having to compromise its ...
- Why the Apple MacBook Air With M3 Chip Is the Best Laptop Money Can Buyon March 19, 2024 at 1:15 pm
Several months after introducing the M3 family of chips alongside the updated MacBook Pros, Apple brought the new silicon to the popular MacBook Air. The latest iteration debuted in early March with a ...
- The amazing MacBook Air M1 is now just $699 at Walmart — how to get yourson March 15, 2024 at 7:40 am
You can’t keep a great laptop down, as the MacBook Air M1 moves from Apple to Walmart — which offers it at a new all-time-low price.
via Bing News