According to foreign media reports, it is very important to increase battery capacity, which will help to increase the mileage of electric vehicles. To this end, many research institutions have set their sights on Lithium-oxygen batteries.
Prospects: Lithium-oxygen batteries are a promising product development path that can significantly increase their energy density compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries (at least in theory). University of Waterloo, Canada The R&D staff has adopted a number of approaches to solve a number of technical problems, and it is expected to carry out the commercial operation of this type of battery.
Challenge: There is a key problem at present - when lithium-oxygen batteries are discharged, oxygen will be converted into superoxide and lithium peroxide. Over time, the reaction products will be Corrosion of battery components, which in turn limits the battery's charging capacity and battery usability.
Technological advances: In order to solve the above problems, the researchers replaced the graphite cathode with a nickel oxide cathode and a stainless steel mesh. The developer also added a molten salt to the electrolyte to promote the positive ion. The movement between the positive and negative electrodes, while raising the maximum operating problem of this type of battery to 150 degrees Celsius.
The above approach is expected to increase the number of charge and discharge cycles of lithium-oxygen batteries by a factor of three. The researchers also managed to increase the energy per unit of mass by more than 50%.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology wrote in the note: 'The research found that there is an infinite opportunity, and new battery technology makes lithium-oxygen batteries hope to beat lithium-ion batteries and other energy storage technologies.'
Although the research direction has been clear, at least it has to wait for several years. In addition, it is necessary to further improve the service life of such batteries, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of their products.
Researcher Linda Nazar said that to achieve commercialization of lithium-oxygen batteries, it may take more than 15 years.
