Lithium Batteries Will Charge and Perform Better Thanks to This Microscope

Lithium Batteries Will Charge and Perform Better

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have developed a new work tool that allows us to better understand the complexities of lithium batteries and thus improve their operation and performance . A low-cost microscopy technique has made it possible to image lithium-ion in action. With this, the research team hopes to be able to more quickly develop smartphones and electric vehicles that charge in much less time than they currently take.

According to Cristoph Schedermann, co-author of the study, the ideal for a battery is either its short charging time or that it can store much more energy. However, combining these two features is not that easy. He has also ensured that you have to understand what happens inside a battery to make them better.

An expensive technology

Nowadays, looking inside lithium batteries is very expensive, since only high-powered machines such as electron microscopes or synchrotron X-ray machines can be used, which are much more powerful than traditional X-rays. This causes that there is no viable way to study the processes that happen inside lithium batteries. Although these batteries have been used for decades, that does not mean that today their functionality is 100% understood.

Batería de litio

The Cambridge team imaged individual particles inside a lithium cobalt oxide electrode in real time, revealing some interesting behaviors. This was achieved thanks to the application of a technique known as interferometric scattering microscopy, which creates images of tiny objects by using a reference beam to interact and mediate the light they scatter.

The importance of loading speed

They found that the speed of the device’s charge influenced when lithium ions and flowed in and out as the battery charged and discharged. Although this is a first step in increasing battery performance, it is still a long way from achieving a definitive breakthrough.

If the battery was charging, the speed depends on how fast the lithium ions can pass through the active material particles. Instead, if it is discharging, the speed depends on how fast the ions are inserted at the edges. If the researchers could control these two mechanisms , lithium batteries could be made to charge much faster.

Microscopio

This study may also help to better understand the functionalities of batteries, leading scientists to explore advanced battery materials and track their performance, making devices that charge faster, are safer and retain more energy. It is hoped that this technique can be used to study battery materials in the future.