Swapping Graphite Anodes For Silicon Improves Li-ion Battery Capacity Five Times
Battery capacity is the main thing keeping our lifestyles tethered: to the wall socket, to the gas pump, etc. But while we can extend our batteries' charges with smarter, low-power tech, we're still leaving a good deal of capacity on the table within current lithium-ion technology. A group of researchers at Georgia Tech have devised a "bottom-up" self-assembling nano-composite technique that could tap into that extra capacity, allowing battery makers to swap inefficient graphite anodes for high-performance silicon structures that could increase capacities five-fold. Li-ion batteries work by transferring lithium ions between a cathode and an anode through a liquid electrolyte. The capacity of a battery is determined by the number of ions it can contain and how quickly those ions can be exchanged. Silicon is an ideal material for anodes because it allows lithium ions to pass in and out of the electrode very quickly. But the expansion and contraction...