If you have an electric vehicle, you might find it annoying since you have to wait for a long time until it is completely recharged, unlike other normal cars, which only takes a short period to refuel.
An electric cable is attached to the side of a Chevrolet Volt vehicle during a viewing on Capitol Hill July 19, 2007 in Washington, DC. The Volt is a plug-in electric vehicle which will run its first 40 miles without using any gasoline, and then the battery pack will be re-charged by a small internal combustion engine that runs on gas, diesel or ethanol when required. The vehicle is expected to be on the market by 2010.
Right now, engineers are trying to solve this problem. They claim that black phosphorus can make EV's recharging time as fast as refueling. According to Ars Technica's latest report, the substance's structure naturally creates channels to easily let lithium in.
Although black phosphorus is not a great material for batteries, researchers from China and the United States figured out how to manipulate the black substance so it'll work.
What researchers claim
According to the Independent's previous report, researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) said that the battery breakthrough could provide EVs with 500km of range from just 10 minutes of recharging.
The Tango electric commuter vehicle prototype is displayed at the company headquarters of Commuter Cars Corporation April 6, 2006 in Spokane, Washington. Rick Woodbury, designer of the Tango T600 kit, along with his son Bryan, built the first running prototype in 1998 and have been refining the design ever since. The first production model of the ultra-narrow Tango T600 kit was delivered to actor George Clooney in August 2005, with the second production kit currently under construction. The battery powered, 3,057 pound two-seater, can go from 0 to 60 mph in four seconds, with a top speed of up to 150 mph and driving range of 80 miles. Orders are being taken for the Tango T600 kit at a cost of $85,000 with a mass-produced model of the Tango T200 and T100 production vehicles due out sometime in 2008 and 2009, respectively.
Also Read: Tesla's App Finally Receives Two-Factor Authentication and Here's How to Activate It
"The combination of high energy, high [charging] rate, and long cycle life is the holy grail of battery research, which is determined by one of the key components of the battery: the electrode materials," said Hengxing Ji, a USTC professor, according to Independent.
"We aim to search for an electrode material that can make a dent in performance metrics from laboratory research and can hold the promise to stand with the industrial production techniques and requirements," he added.
Black Phosphorus is the key
The researchers explained that superfast recharging time is achievable if black phosphorus and graphite are combined. Why? Because the two materials can radically speed up the transfer of energy to lithium-ion batteries.
Sen Xin, a professor from the Institute of Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the combined material restored 80% of its full capacity in less than 10 minutes. The combination also shows a 2000-cycle operation life at room temperature.
For more news updates about car technologies, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
Also Read: Tesla's 2021 Model 3 'Refresh' Includes New Wheel Design With More Aerodynamic Feature
This article is owned by TechTimes,
Written by: Giuliano de Leon.
