{"id":8942,"date":"2014-05-26T08:50:14","date_gmt":"2014-05-26T15:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=8942"},"modified":"2014-05-26T08:50:14","modified_gmt":"2014-05-26T15:50:14","slug":"three-battery-technologies-great-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/three-battery-technologies-great-potential\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Battery Technologies with Great Potential"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a good week when at least three battery developments show promise for electric vehicle use in the near future.\u00a0 One advanced lithium-ion battery from France, a dual-carbon battery from Japan, and a supercapacitor that one can wrap around one\u2019s finger comprise the trio.<\/span><\/p>\n

French Lithium-Tin Dioxide<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/b>\u201cSynthesizing nanoparticles of tin dioxide (SnO2) in the pores of a carbonaceous material,\u201d researchers at the Institute of Materials Science of Mulhouse and Charles Gerhardt Institute of Montpellier<\/a>, part of an electrochemical energy storage consortium called RS2E, have found the material to have \u201cremarkable properties.\u201d\u00a0 Their work is the subject of a patent and published in the journal,\u00a0Advanced Energy Materials<\/a><\/i>.<\/p>\n

\"RS2E<\/a>

Lithium-ion battery in a Toyota Prius. With nanoparticles tin dioxide encompassed within a carbonaceous material, researchers were able to improve the performance of a lithium-ion battery.<\/p><\/div>\n

Researchers, hoping to obtain better performance that that achieved with carbon electrodes, tested combinations of nickel (Ni),\u00a0\u00a0iron\u00a0\u00a0(Fe), cobalt (Co), and other materials before hitting on tin dioxide as a material of choice.\u00a0 All have (theretically) far greater electrochemical storage capacity than graphite, but expand and contract during charging and discharging of the battery, often loosing particles which interfere with ion flow.<\/p>\n

The RS2E researchers found that confining two-nanometer-sized particles of tin dioxide in the interconnected pores of a carbon matrix helped improve battery performance with no irritating particle shedding.\u00a0 Researchers used \u201ccarbonaceous precursors respectful of the environment,\u201d which were then reduced and infused into the pores of the carbon.<\/p>\n

This homogeneous distribution of tin dioxide within the carbon was \u201ccontrolled and adjusted to absorb changes in volume of the particles during lithiation (battery charging) and reduce particle agglomeration (dendrites).\u201d\u00a0During testing, researchers noted higher output and excellent retention of charactertistics during extended cycling. (443 milliamp-hours per gram after 2,000 cycles, against 370 for the\u00a0graphite\u00a0\u00a0used in commercial batteries) and a near 100-percent efficiency.<\/p>\n

\"Performance<\/a>

Performance over extended Life Cycle shows promise of new battery technology. \u00a0Confined tin dioxide (blue line) shows superior life cycle performance over unconfined electrode (red line).<\/p><\/div>\n

Japanese Dual-Carbon Battery<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Ryden dual-carbon battery<\/a> \u201coffers energy density comparable to a lithium ion battery, but over a much longer functional lifetime with drastically improved safety and cradle-to-cradle sustainability,\u201d according to its makers.\u00a0 \u00a0Unlike most batteries that use different materials for anode and cathode, both are made of carbon in the Ryden cell.<\/p>\n

Because the materials in this battery are common and inexpensive, Dou Kani, CEO of Power Japan Plus, says, \u201cThe Ryden dual-carbon battery is the energy storage breakthrough needed to bring green technology like electric vehicles to mass market.\u201d\u00a0 Ryden thinks this will achieve their goals of performance, cost, reliability, safety and sustainability.<\/p>\n