Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have designed and tested an all-solid lithium-sulfur battery with approximately four times the energy density of conventional lithium-ion technologies that power today’s electronics.
The ORNL battery design, which uses abundant low-cost elemental sulfur, also addresses flammability concerns experienced by other chemistries.
“Our approach is a complete change from the current battery concept of two electrodes joined by a liquid electrolyte, which has been used over the last 150 to 200 years,” said Chengdu Liang, lead author on the ORNL study published this week in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
Scientists have been excited about the potential of lithium-sulfur batteries for decades, but long-lasting, large-scale versions for commercial applications have proven elusive. Researchers were stuck with a catch-22 created by the battery’s use of liquid electrolytes: On one hand, the liquid helped conduct ions through the battery by allowing lithium polysulfide compounds to dissolve. The downside, however, was that the same dissolution process caused the battery to prematurely break down.
The ORNL team overcame these barriers by first synthesizing a never-before-seen class of sulfur-rich materials that conduct ions as well as the lithium metal oxides conventionally used in the battery’s cathode. Liang’s team then combined the new sulfur-rich cathode and a lithium anode with a solid electrolyte material, also developed at ORNL, to create an energy-dense, all-solid battery.
“This game-changing shift from liquid to solid electrolytes eliminates the problem of sulfur dissolution and enables us to deliver on the promise of lithium-sulfur batteries,” Liang said. “Our battery design has real potential to reduce cost, increase energy density and improve safety compared with existing lithium-ion technologies.”
The new ionically-conductive cathode enabled the ORNL battery to maintain a capacity of 1200 milliamp-hours (mAh) per gram after 300 charge-discharge cycles at 60 degrees Celsius. For comparison, a traditional lithium-ion battery cathode has an average capacity between 140-170 mAh/g. Because lithium-sulfur batteries deliver about half the voltage of lithium-ion versions, this eight-fold increase in capacity demonstrated in the ORNL battery cathode translates into four times the gravimetric energy density of lithium-ion technologies, explained Liang.
The team’s all-solid design also increases battery safety by eliminating flammable liquid electrolytes that can react with lithium metal. Chief among the ORNL battery’s other advantages is its use of elemental sulfur, a plentiful industrial byproduct of petroleum processing.
“Sulfur is practically free,” Liang said. “Not only does sulfur store much more energy than the transition metal compounds used in lithium-ion battery cathodes, but a lithium-sulfur device could help recycle a waste product into a useful technology.”
Although the team’s new battery is still in the demonstration stage, Liang and his colleagues hope to see their research move quickly from the laboratory into commercial applications. A patent on the team’s design is pending.
“This project represents a synergy between basic science and applied research,” Liang said. “We used fundamental research to understand a scientific phenomenon, identified the problem and then created the right material to solve that problem, which led to the success of a device with real-world applications.”
The Latest Bing News on:
Lithium-sulfur batteries
- Batteries Newson April 24, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Researchers are developing new ... Healable Cathode Could Unlock Potential of Solid-State Lithium-Sulfur Batteries Mar. 6, 2024 — Engineers developed a cathode material for lithium-sulfur (Li-S ...
- Storing and utilizing energy with innovative sulfur-based cathodeson April 24, 2024 at 7:31 am
Electric vehicles and portable electronic devices such as laptops and mobile phones are unthinkable without lithium-ion batteries. The problem is highly toxic materials such as cobalt are often used ...
- How Clemson University research could affect your access to lithium ion batterieson April 24, 2024 at 4:06 am
While the availability of lithium iode batteries is expected to wane, researchers are looking to extend that supply by ...
- More Than Just Fool’s Gold: Scientists Uncover Hidden Treasure in Pyriteon April 19, 2024 at 9:29 pm
There’s a reason airlines won’t let you put your laptop in your checked luggage; the lithium-ion battery poses a serious fire hazard. But why? Lithium is incredibly reactive. For instance, pure ...
- Researchers Develop Revolutionary Cathode Material for Lithium-Sulfur Batterieson April 19, 2024 at 1:00 pm
Researchers at the University of California - San Diego have developed a self-healing cathode material that overcomes the challenges of traditional sulfur cathodes and could revolutionize solid-state ...
- "Fool’s gold" may actually be valuable as an energy source for tech deviceson April 19, 2024 at 8:22 am
To identify alternative lithium sources, the experts analyzed 15 sedimentary rock samples from the middle-Devonian period ...
- Fool's Gold May Be Valuable After All After 'Unheard Of' Discoveryon April 19, 2024 at 3:29 am
Scientists found an abundance of lithium in fool's gold—a new source of the much sought-after element which is used in batteries.
- Lithium-Sulfur Battery Market Key Segments, Share, Trends, Size, Growth, and Forecast 2024 to 2032on April 16, 2024 at 6:09 pm
The Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) battery market is experiencing significant growth and innovation driven by the increasing demand for energy storage solutions across various industries. Li-S batteries are ...
- Pyrite, also known as fool's gold, may contain valuable lithium, a key element for green energyon April 16, 2024 at 10:38 am
The technology revolution and development of new renewable energy resources is driving demand for lithium to new heights, but it is not a common mineral. Scientists say they have found lithium in an ...
- Pyrite may contain valuable lithium, a key element for green energyon April 15, 2024 at 7:11 am
There's a reason airlines won't let you put your laptop in your checked luggage; the lithium-ion battery poses a serious fire hazard. But why? Lithium is incredibly reactive. For instance, pure ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Lithium-sulfur batteries
[google_news title=”” keyword=”lithium-sulfur batteries” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
All-solid lithium-sulfur battery
- Breakthrough in Sodium Battery Chemistry Promises Lower Costson April 27, 2024 at 12:00 pm
A new mass synthesis process for sodium-containing sulfides could make all-solid-state sodium batteries more affordable and safer than lithium-ion batteries.
- Lithium battery sparks destructive house fire in Franklinon April 26, 2024 at 3:43 pm
A Franklin family is picking up the pieces after a fire ripped through their home Thursday night, killing two animals and causing serious damage to the structure.
- MSC works with GSBN to boost lithium battery shipments safetyon April 25, 2024 at 3:11 am
The rapid growth in lithium battery shipments has raised concern over the increased fire risk for containerships.
- The rise of low-carbon aircrafton April 23, 2024 at 4:03 pm
The emergence of electric and low-carbon aircraft technologies marks a significant shift in aviation, with substantial growth predicted in the electric aircraft market over the 2030 to 2050 period.
- Overcoming Challenges in Solid-State Sodium Battery Productionon April 12, 2024 at 7:50 am
Reviewed by Lexie Corner A novel process enables mass synthesis, resulting in a solid sulfide electrolyte with the world's highest reported sodium ion conductivity and a glass electrolyte with high ...
- Solidion Technology Reports Results for Full Year 2023on April 12, 2024 at 6:00 am
Successful completion of business combination with Honeycomb Battery CompanyShares commenced trading on Nasdaq Global on February 2, 2024 DALLAS, April 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Solidion Technology ...
- Discovery brings all-solid-state sodium batteries closer to practical useon April 11, 2024 at 6:29 am
The pursuit of greener energy also requires efficient rechargeable batteries to store that energy. While lithium-ion batteries are currently the most widely used, all-solid-state sodium batteries are ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
All-solid lithium-sulfur battery
[google_news title=”” keyword=”all-solid lithium-sulfur battery” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]