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MIT "Yolk and Shell" Nanoparticle Promises Longer-Lived Rechargeable Batteries

Posted by timothy on from the expand-contract-expand-contract dept.

jan_jes writes: A new "yolk-and-shell" nanoparticle created by researchers at MIT and Tsinghua University in China could boost the capacity and power of lithium-ion batteries. The researchers have created an electrode made of nanoparticles with a solid shell, and a "yolk" inside that can change size again and again without affecting the shell. The new findings, which use aluminum as the key material for the lithium-ion battery's negative electrode, or anode, are reported in the journal Nature Communications. The use of nanoparticles with an aluminum yolk and a titanium dioxide shell has proven to be "the high-rate champion among high-capacity anodes." The linked article goes into much more detail about the (serendipitous) discovery.

2 of 35 comments (clear)

  1. Great news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'll add it to my ever growing list entitled "Technologies promising to double battery capacity that have yet to come to market"

    1. Re:Great news by Dr_Barnowl · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's not personal devices that will benefit the most. As you point out, there is a stalemate between the twin goals of more power, and less power consumption, in the IC market.

      It's devices with relatively fixed power consumption that will benefit, like electric cars. Even if this only adds 50% capacity to batteries, that will push electric cars over the threshold of viability for a LOT more people. Anything that does stuff in the real world rather than the virtual world.