Credit: UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering / John Zich
As demand for electric vehicles increases, so too does the need for advanced rechargeable batteries. Scientists across the globe are researching new materials, new designs, new configurations and new chemistry.
But a team at the University of Chicago says one aspect of the battery has been historically overlooked—the texture of the metals used.
“There is a gap in understanding how the texture impacts the rechargeable metal battery performance,” said Shirley Meng, professor in molecular engineering at the University of Chicago.
Since batteries with lithium or sodium metal rely on these textures for favored rate capability, Meng and team wondered if tweaking the texture of soft metals could improve power densities. To study the material, the group coupled milling within plasma focused ion beam-scanning electron microscope (PFIB-SEM) with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) mapping. Together, the two techniques were able to study texture in new ways.
The team discovered that adding a thin layer of silicon between lithium metal and the current collector helps create the desired texture. This change improved the battery’s rate capability by nearly 10 times in all-solid-state batteries using lithium metal.
The researchers’ next challenge is to lower the pressure used during testing from 5 megapascals (MPa) to 1 MPa, the current industry standard for commercially available batteries. They also plan to study the impact of texture on sodium, which Meng has long studied as an inexpensive, readily available alternative to lithium.
The researchers have partnered with LG Energy Solution’s Frontier Research Laboratory, which will work to commercialize the technology.
Information courtesy of University of Chicago