The Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the Revolution of …

On the third day, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recognized John Goodenough (USA), Stanley Whittingham (United Kingdom) and Akira Yoshino (Japan) with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. They distinguished themselves by "the development of lithium-ion batteries", since their works created the necessary conditions for a wireless society and without fossil fuels. Batteries, now used in computers, mobile phones and cars, are a fundamental part of transforming the energy landscape and guiding the world to a "rechargeable paradigm".

During the 1970s, in a scenario defined by the oil crisis, Whittingham set to work and soon created a battery with high potential (two volts). However, the problem was that it was based on metallic lithium, which was reactive and made the proposal unrealizable. It was Goodenough who picked up the glove and decided, ten years later, to replace the supplies that made him explosive. In this way, he used cobalt oxide with lithium ions and made the technology much more powerful (four volts). Finally, the world had to wait for Yoshino to turn a corner: he returned to the battery lighter and stronger to be charged and recharged as many times as necessary. In this way, it became likely to be marketed.

"The creation of batteries was a big jump. Goodenough was known for his contributions to the theory of oxides by describing their electrical and magnetic properties. With this knowledge, he understood that lithium ions could penetrate the structures of oxides (called intercalation), "says Ernesto Calvo, researcher at the Conicet Institute of Chemistry, Materials Physics, Environment and Energy (INQUIMAE) and professor at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the UBA. From there, the region exploded and in the early 90s, Sony sold the first copies.

"His presence has transformed the way we communicate. First, it has reduced the size of mobile phones, tablets and computers and thus enabled the consolidation of mobile electronics. The second important application concerns rural electrification: those who do not have access to the electricity grid can use the battery to store energy. The third, and perhaps the most spectacular, is electric cars, "explains Calvo.

Lithium is the lightest metal and at the same time it has excellent energy storage capacity. A car, for example, uses the lithium equivalent present in 15,000 cell phones. Therefore, it is expected that the automotive industry will be responsible for tracking demand for this input in the not-too-distant future.

"Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries beat all the other victories. They have incredible cycling (loading and unloading in thousands of cycles) and allow, for example, our mobile phone to hold it at 11 o'clock in the evening without being charged since the morning. The counterexamples are those of lead acid used in cars and which must be changed every three or four years, "says Victoria Flexer, a researcher at Conicet and a professor at the National University of Jujuy. And, then, he completes his argument: "In addition to allowing portability in the electronics and manufacturing of electric cars, they have allowed the storage of energy from renewable but intermittent sources such as wind and the solar. It is not possible to think of an energy matrix with a very high proportion of renewable energy without storage method. Today, in Argentina, the use of renewable energy is less than 1%. "

Paradoxically, although Argentina has good amounts of lithium (in fact, with Chile and Bolivia, it forms the famous "Lithium Triangle" with huge reserves), it imports from countries like Korea and China. "We have a great scientific tradition, we have developed satellites and nuclear power plants. We should not consider lithium as a mine, but as a technological development capable of a formidable industrial escalation. The worst strategy we can adopt is the one that favors the current government. today, they take it for nothing. I hope that in the coming months, the policy will be modified to take care of ours and bring added value. In this regard, Flexer said: "In the face of all the attacks on Conicet's scientists, lithium is a clear example of the importance of supporting local science and technology." explore the subject, with avant-garde approaches, they do not listen to us.

The ceremony will take place on December 10 and the nine million Swedish kroner will be rewarded for a million dollars. How could it be otherwise, here too the historical figures tilt the balance too much towards men. Until this edition, out of a total of 110 Nobel Laureates and 181 laureates (since the prize can be shared), only 5 corresponded to women. Marie Curie (1911), her daughter Irene Joliot-Curie (1935), Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin (1964), Ada Yonath (2009) and Frances H. Arnold in 2018 were the only ones blessed. With this delivery, the awards in the field of science culminate until next year and it remains only to reveal the winners of literature (Thursday), peace (Friday) and the economy ( on Monday).

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