Apr 29 2009
With the cost of lithium ion batteries falling and their efficiency levels being greater than traditional car batteries, automobile manufacturers are closer than ever to making electric cars affordable to the general public. Nanoparticles used in the development of these new batteries help deliver the highest energy and power capacities, and longer running times while adding very little weight. NETZSCH Fine Particle Technology's LMZ ZETA™ II mill grinds MnO2, lithium titanate and other key particles needed for lithium-ion batteries down to the nano-range.
The LMZ ZETA II wet bead mill is capable of grinding MnO2 for lithium-ion battery anodes down to 150 nanometers using yttrium zirconia (YTZ) beads. The nanoparticles improve a battery's specific capacity because the smaller the particles, the less distance ions must travel, resulting in much easier diffusion. In addition, nanoparticles speed the charging rate of the battery and improve its energy density, allowing for more power in a smaller size battery.
The ZETA II high-efficiency grinding system offers precision engineering that is ideal for nanoparticle formulations. It offers exact reproducibility, batch after batch, with high throughput speed over a broad range of viscosities. With great efficiency, the system can make 12 or more passes, or turnovers, per batch in the time required to run one pass on a standard horizontal mill.
NETZSCH Fine Particle Technology, LLC (Exton, Pa.), an affiliated company of the Germany-based NETZSCH Feinmahltechnik GmbH, provides customized grinding, mixing, dispersing, kneading, deaeration, classifying, press and laboratory solutions for the paint and coating, pigment, pharmaceutical, food processing, ceramics, agricultural, minerals processing, cosmetics and R&D markets. More than 130 years of experience, targeted development and daily contact with customers, combined with process engineering know-how and an extensive machine and plant program, make NETZSCH one of the world’s leading suppliers.