Bending-Tolerant Anodes for Lithium-Metal Batteries

Journal:
Advanced Materials
Published:
DOI:
10.1002/adma.201703891
Affiliations:
8
Authors:
9
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Research Highlight

Carbon shares the load in bendy batteries

© Monty Rakusen/Cultura/Getty

Bendy batteries could be made more durable by protecting vulnerable components in a flexible carbon frame.

Lithium-based batteries can hold a lot of power, but lithium crystals can grow inside the cell with detrimental effects. Bending the battery leads to more crystal growth and increases the likelihood of a short circuit.

A team including researchers from the Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering in Tianjin built an anode by combining lithium with graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms. The graphene provided a flexible frame that absorbed the stresses caused by bending and prevented the growth of lithium crystals. The team tested their anode in a battery and found that it lasted 1000 hours, whereas a cell made using a purely lithium anode short-circuited after just 200 hours.

 Durable, bendy batteries could be used in wearable electronics and flexible solar cells that can withstand damage.

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References

  1. Advanced Materials 30, 1703891 (2017). doi: 10.1002/adma.201703891
Institutions Authors Share
Northwestern University (NU), United States of America (USA)
2.000000
 0.22
MOE Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology, TJU, China
1.500000
 0.17
Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), China
1.500000
 0.17
Dalian University of Technology (DUT), China
1.000000
 0.11
CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, NCNST CAS, China
1.000000
 0.11
CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, NCNST CAS, China
1.000000
 0.11
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials, Fudan University, China
1.000000
 0.11