New
Nanostructure for Batteries Keeps Going and Going ...
(May 10,
2012) For more
than a decade, scientists have tried to improve lithium-based batteries by
replacing the graphite in one terminal with silicon, which can store 10 times
more charge. But after just a few charge/discharge cycles, the silicon
structure would crack and crumble, rendering the battery useless.
Now a team
led by materials scientist Yi Cui of Stanford and SLAC has found a solution: a
cleverly designed double-walled nanostructure that lasts more than 6,000
cycles, far more than needed by electric vehicles or mobile electronics.
“This is a
very exciting development toward our goal of creating smaller, lighter and
longer-lasting batteries than are available today,” Cui said. The results were
published March 25 in Nature Nanotechnology.