Research by Cho and Yongping Zheng (pictured) focuses on the electrolyte catalysts inside the battery, which, when combined with oxygen, create chemical reactions that create battery capacity. Credit: Image courtesy of University of Texas at Dallas
Dr. Kyeongjae Cho, professor of materials science and engineering in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, has discovered new catalyst materials for lithium-air batteries that jumpstart efforts at expanding battery capacity. Lithium-air (or lithium-oxygen) batteries “breathe” oxygen from the air to power the chemical reactions that release electricity, rather than storing an oxidizer internally like lithium-ion batteries do. Because of this, lithium-air batteries boast an energy density comparable to gasoline – with theoretical energy densities as much as 10X that of current Li-ion batteries, giving them tremendous potential for storage of renewable energy, particularly in applications such as mobile devices and electric cars.
Eg, at 1/5 the cost and weight of those presently on the market, a lithium-air battery would allow an electric car to drive 400miles on a single charge and a mobile phone to last a week without recharging. Cho and Zheng have introduced new research that focuses on the electrolyte catalysts inside the battery, which, when combined with oxygen, create chemical reactions that create battery capacity. Soluble-type catalysts possess significant advantages over solid catalysts, generally exhibiting much higher efficiency. In particular, they found only certain organic materials can be utilized as a soluble catalyst.
Cho and Zheng have collaborated with researchers at Seoul National University to create a new catalyst for the lithium-air battery called dimethylphenazine, which possesses higher stability and increased voltage efficiency. “The catalyst should enable the lithium-air battery to become a more practical energy storage solution,” Zheng said.
The catalyst research should open the door to additional advances in technology. But it could take 5 to 10 years before the research translates into new batteries that can be used in consumer devices and electric vehicles. “Automobile and mobile device batteries are facing serious challenges because they need higher capacity,” he said. “This is a major step,” Cho said. “Hopefully it will revitalize the interest in lithium-air battery research, creating momentum that can make this practical, rather than just an academic research study.”
http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2016/5/23-32059_Discovery-Could-Energize-Development-of-Longer-Las_story-wide.html?WT.mc_id=NewsHomePageCenterColumn
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