The new cell design moves away from typical graphene models and instead uses silicon.
Developed at the University of Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI), the research was initially published in ACS Applied Energy Materials. The novel design was gaunt to deliver some of the highest levels of energy storage capacity for silicon-carbon nanotube systems, without sacrificing stability over hundreds of charge cycles.
This overcomes a major disadvantage of silicon, which has long been known to offer significantly extended battery life but due to the way it expands and contracts during and after charging, faster degradation as cracks in the material form.
With the new Surrey blueprint, this is no longer an issue thanks to a Vertically Integrated Silicon-Carbon Nanotube structure: essentially a ‘dense forest’ of nanotubes embedded directly onto copper foil, coated in a thin layer of silicon, which can absorb expansion without risking unsustainable wear and tear. Lab testing has now shown this solution. is capable of storing 3500 milliampere-hours per gram, much more than the 370 mAh/g offered by current lithium-ion batteries that use graphite.
‘There’s been a growing push for battery innovation, as many of today’s technologies are limited by how much energy batteries can store. Our VISiCNT design offers a practical route to harness silicon’s huge storage capability without sacrificing cycle life,’ said Dr Muhammad Ahmad, Research Fellow at the University of Surrey’s ATI and lead author of the study.
‘This is a much-needed breakthrough, delivering very high capacity, fast charging and long-term durability, while bringing us closer to batteries that can power electric vehicles and everyday devices for much longer on a single charge,’ he continued.
Image: Gilles Lambert / Unsplash
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