A chemical research team has developed an MRI-based technology that can quickly diagnose what kind of problems occur with certain types of batteries—and does not need to turn on the batteries from determining the remaining charge to detecting an internal defect.
Alexej Jerschow, a professor of chemistry at New York University who led the research team, said: 'The use of alternative energy and electric vehicles will further increase the demand for better and safer batteries, but at present there is only a very limited set of tools that do not break down. The condition of the battery is used to diagnose the health of the battery - our non-intrusive technology provides a quicker and more extensive approach to these assessments.
The work described in the Nature Communications Journal (in-situ internal and external magnetic resonance imaging of rechargeable lithium-ion cell states of charge and defect detection) also includes Andrew Ilott, a postdoctoral research fellow at New York University (now a research investigator for Brisol-Myers Squibb); Dr. Mohaddese Mohammadi, a doctoral student at New York University; and Christopher Schauerman and Matthew Ganter, research scientists at Rochester Institute of Technology.
A chemical research team has developed an MRI-based technology that can quickly diagnose what kind of problems occur with certain types of batteries—no need to turn on the battery from determining the remaining charge to detecting an internal defect. A schematic diagram of the device, illustrated as a battery and a battery box with a detection medium (in this case water), and (d) depicting both (battery and battery box) inserted in the magnet bore of the NMR magnet. Credit: Andrew Ilott and Alexej Jerschow
According to Ganter, co-director of the RIT Battery Prototyping Center, “Ensuring battery quality and safety is critical to the manufacturing process. It can save the company significant costs and prevent catastrophic battery failure.
Christopher Schauerman, co-director of the RIT Battery Prototyping Center, added: 'Overall, this work not only has an important role in the entire battery industry, it also plays a significant role in promoting New York's growing energy storage ecosystem. '
And it is worth noting that today's rechargeable batteries are the core of new technologies, including the storage of electric cars or renewable energy sources.
However, the recent failures of mobile devices and electric vehicles have further highlighted the difficulty of designing batteries for these cutting-edge technologies. Engineers are often unable to determine the nature of the defects and battery failures that will result in battery damage without removing the equipment. .
In general, magnetic resonance (MR) methods can measure small changes in the magnetic field, so you can create an internal image of the structure—for example, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) can obtain images of human organs in a non-invasive manner.
In their work at Nature Communications, scientists used a procedure similar to MRI to measure small magnetic field changes around the battery's electrochemical cell.
In their experiments, they examined different states of lithium-ion batteries - various levels of charge (ie, battery life) and conditions (ie, some damaged and other undamaged). These batteries are co-operated by the RIT Battery Prototyping Center. Prepared by. Through these batteries, New York University's team matched the changes in the magnetic field around the battery with different internal conditions to reveal charge status and certain defects. These defects included the bending of internal parts, missing electrodes, and batteries. Small foreign bodies, and these are defects that may occur during normal manufacturing.
Jerschow added: "With the enhancement of this method in the future, it provides a powerful means for predicting battery failure and battery life as well as facilitating the development of the next generation of high-performance, high-capacity, long-lasting or fast-rechargeable batteries.'
