Nanowires Make Lithium-Ion Batteries Suitable for Electric Vehicles

The 3D Li-ion battery has been unveiled at the 241st National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

The 3D interior format of the battery will make it suitable for use in electric cars. Amy Prieto, who led the research team, said that they have developed a 3D sample, as small as a cell phone battery, which takes approximately 12 min to recharge.

The research at Colorado State University endeavors to enhance Li-ion batteries. Li-ion batteries recharge slowly, last only about two years, and need special integrated circuits to avoid overheating. To overcome this issue, the team used nanowires of copper antimonide instead of the graphite anode. The nanowires have a vast surface area and can save more lithium ions. They are chemically stable and heat resistant. The nanowires were packed into a 3D structure that looked like hair brush bristles. A thin layer of electrolyte was applied to the nanowires and enclosed within a cathode material composed of lithium. According to Prieto, the battery should last twice as long as existing ones.

Source: http://www.colostate.edu/