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Carbon nanotubes turn out to be a secret method to make better batteries. A recent research conducted by Rice University scientists and published in Advanced Materials journal badured the benefits of using carbon nanotubes.
What are carbon nanotubes?
Carbon nanotubes are cylindrical carbon molecules with the properties that make them potentially useful in a variety of applications in nanotechnology, electronics, optics and other fields of materials science, as defined by Science Daily.
How are carbon nanotubes batteries better than normal batteries?
The Rice lab of chemist James Tour showed that thin nanotube films have the tendency to stop the growth of dendrites, spiny projections which generally grow on the electrode’s surface after several charging cycles of unprotected batteries.
Over time, these tentacle-like dendrites can pierce the battery’s electrolyte core and reach the cathode, causing the battery to fail.
“The lithium dopes the nanotube film, which turns from black to red, and the film, in turn, diffuses the lithium ions,” he added.
What is a lithium-ion battery?
A lithium-ion battery is the one which can be recharged. Lithium ions move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode during the discharge and back when charging.
A researcher holding lithium metal anode with a film of carbon nanotube. (Photo courtesy: Jeff Fitlow)
However, the film of carbon nanotubes to prevent dendrite growth in lithium metal batteries charge faster and hold more power than current lithium-ion batteries.
Read: New bacteria-fueled paper battery invented! Here’s how it was made
Carbon nanotubes charger will be much faster
Lithium metal charges much faster and holds about 10 times more energy by volume than the lithium-ion electrodes found in just about every electronic device, including cellphones and electric cars.
“One of the ways to slow dendrites in lithium-ion batteries is to limit how fast they charge,” Tour said.
How do carbon nanotubes function?
“Physical contact with lithium metal reduces the nanotube film, but balances it by adding lithium ions,” said Rice postdoctoral researcher Rodrigo Salvatierra, co-lead author of the paper with graduate student Gladys López-Silva.
The ions distribute themselves throughout the nanotube film.
When the battery is in use, the film discharges stored ions and the underlying lithium anode refills it, maintaining the film’s ability to stop dendrite growth.
The test revealed that the tangled-nanotube film effectively destroyed dendrites over 580 charges/discharge cycles of a test battery when used with a sulfurised-carbon cathode.
Lithium metal cells retain approximately 99.8 per cent of their efficiency.
Also read: This new battery runs on carbon dioxide given out by power plants and can reduce air pollution
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