The new lithium battery can be charged within 5 minutes!

The new lithium battery can be charged within 5 minutes!

According to Science and Technology Daily, scientists from Cornell University in the United States have developed a new type of lithium battery that can be charged within 5 minutes, faster than other similar batteries on the market, and can maintain stable performance after thousands of charging and discharging cycles, which is expected to alleviate the "mileage anxiety" of electric vehicle drivers. The relevant paper was published in the latest issue of Joule magazine.

Lithium ion batteries are currently one of the most popular ways to power electric vehicles and smartphones. Lithium batteries are lightweight, reliable, and relatively energy-efficient, but they often take several hours to complete charging and lack the ability to handle large surges. In the latest research, scientists have identified a unique indium anode material that can effectively pair with the cathode material in lithium-ion batteries. On this basis, they created a battery that can quickly charge and slowly discharge in 5 minutes.

The researchers explained that in order to design the latest batteries, they focused on electrochemical reaction kinetics and determined that indium is a highly promising fast charging material. Indium is a soft metal mainly used for manufacturing indium tin oxide coatings on touch screen displays and solar panels, and is also used as a substitute for lead in low-temperature solder.

New research shows that indium as a battery anode has two key characteristics: an extremely low migration energy barrier, allowing ions to quickly diffuse in the solid state; Reducing the exchange current density with ions in the anode and slowing down surface reactions - these two characteristics combined are crucial for fast charging and long-term energy storage.

The key to this innovation is to allow the metal ions at the anode of the battery to move freely, find the correct configuration, and then participate in the charge storage reaction. In this way, during each charging cycle, the electrodes are in a stable state, allowing the new battery to remain stable for thousands of charging and discharging cycles.

Researchers say that combining this technology with wireless induction charging roads has the potential to reduce the size and cost of batteries, making electric transportation a more feasible choice for drivers. But indium is heavy, and they hope to use artificial intelligence tools to discover better battery anodes.