The microstructures of commonly used battery materials can now be modified by scientists to increase energy density. The new research paves the way for electric cars that can go further between charges, and the scientists are hoping that additional tests will further improve the performance, according to a report by New Atlas.
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GRUENHEIDE, GERMANY - MARCH 25: In this aerial view newly completed Tesla Model Y electric cars stand at the new Tesla Gigafactory electric car manufacturing plant on March 25, 2022 near Gruenheide, Germany. The new plant, officially called the Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg, officially opened on March 22 with an event with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The new plant is producing the Model Y as well as electric car batteries.
New Electrode
The study, which was conducted by researchers at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, focuses on the cathode, one of the battery's two electrodes.
This electrode is comprised of layered, nickel-rich, octahedron-shaped transition metal oxides, or NMCs, which are commonly used in lithium-ion batteries.
This implies that since none of these particles can fit together perfectly, there will always be empty spaces at the boundaries when two of them combine.
By adjusting the synthesis process and carefully integrating inert salt to favor the creation of spherical particles over octahedron-shaped ones, the researchers were able to change the configuration of two typical NMCs.
According to study co-author Aleksandra Savina, the material they used is a single-crystal NMC with spherical particles to effectively maximize density.
There are no unused gaps at grain borders because the powder particles lack internal structure, unlike polycrystals. Savina said that this allows the packaging of more spherically shaped single crystals into the same volume as octahedron-shaped ones, which gives rise to more density.
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25% Boost in Energy Density
The team claims that this novel cathode material delivers up to a 25% boost in energy density. The researchers believe that by experimenting with particle size further, maybe by mixing smaller and larger ones to further enhance the cathode's density, more energy could be squeezed into the same volume.
Another advantageous aspect of the design is that the cathode's degradation is slowed by the spherical particles' reduced surface contact with the battery's electrolyte, as per New Atlas.
According to primary research by Professor Artem Abakumov, cathode materials represent a significant bottleneck in the development of batteries for electric vehicles.
"The cathodes in batteries powering electric cars tend to use layered transition metal oxides, including nickel-rich ones. We improved two commonly used materials of this kind, achieving a 10%-25% increase in energy density."
Abakumov said that this translates into smaller cathodes, more compact batteries, and ultimately, greater energy storage capacity for the same volume. At the same time, she claimed that the material is slower to deteriorate.
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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
