A systematic way to find battery materials
Lithium-ion batteries have become a leading energy source for everything from smartphones and laptops to power tools and electric cars, and researchers around the world are actively seeking ways to nudge their performance toward ever-higher levels. Now, a new analysis by researchers at MIT and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) has revealed why one widely used compound works particularly well as the material for one of these batteries’ two electrodes — an understanding they say could greatly facilitate the process of searching for even better materials.Lithium-ion batteries’ energy and power density — that is, how much electricity they can store for a given weight, and how fast they can deliver that power — are determined mostly by the material used for the cathode (the positive electrode). When such batteries are being used, lithium atoms are stored within the crystal structure of the cathode; when the battery is...