<p>What if the battery in your smartphone or electric car can be charged fully in 10 minutes flat?<br /><br />Researchers have developed new architecture for lithium-ion battery anodes that far outperform the current standard.<br /><br />The three-dimensional, silicon-decorated, cone-shaped carbon-nanotube cluster architecture for lithium-ion battery anodes could enable charging of portable electronic equipment in barely 10 minutes instead of hours.<br /><br />"Lithium-ion batteries based on this novel architecture demonstrate a high reversible capacity and excellent cycling stability," said lead study author Wei Wang from Bourns College of Engineering at the University of California, Riverside.<br /><br />The architecture demonstrates excellent electrochemical stability and irreversibility even at high charge and discharge rates -- nearly 16 times faster than conventionally used graphite-based anodes.<br /><br />The ultrafast rate of charge and discharge can be attributed to two reasons.<br /><br />Firstly, the seamless connection between graphene-covered copper foil and carbon nanotubes enhances the active material-current collector contact integrity which facilitates charge and thermal transfer in the electrode system.<br /><br />And secondly, the cone-shaped architecture offers small interpenetrating channels for faster electrolyte access into the electrode which may enhance the rate performance, Wang explained.</p>.<p>Silicon is a type of anode material that is receiving a lot of attention because its total charge capacity is 10 times higher than commercial graphite-based lithium-ion battery anodes.<br /><br />The study appeared in the journal SMALL.<br /><br /><br /></p>
<p>What if the battery in your smartphone or electric car can be charged fully in 10 minutes flat?<br /><br />Researchers have developed new architecture for lithium-ion battery anodes that far outperform the current standard.<br /><br />The three-dimensional, silicon-decorated, cone-shaped carbon-nanotube cluster architecture for lithium-ion battery anodes could enable charging of portable electronic equipment in barely 10 minutes instead of hours.<br /><br />"Lithium-ion batteries based on this novel architecture demonstrate a high reversible capacity and excellent cycling stability," said lead study author Wei Wang from Bourns College of Engineering at the University of California, Riverside.<br /><br />The architecture demonstrates excellent electrochemical stability and irreversibility even at high charge and discharge rates -- nearly 16 times faster than conventionally used graphite-based anodes.<br /><br />The ultrafast rate of charge and discharge can be attributed to two reasons.<br /><br />Firstly, the seamless connection between graphene-covered copper foil and carbon nanotubes enhances the active material-current collector contact integrity which facilitates charge and thermal transfer in the electrode system.<br /><br />And secondly, the cone-shaped architecture offers small interpenetrating channels for faster electrolyte access into the electrode which may enhance the rate performance, Wang explained.</p>.<p>Silicon is a type of anode material that is receiving a lot of attention because its total charge capacity is 10 times higher than commercial graphite-based lithium-ion battery anodes.<br /><br />The study appeared in the journal SMALL.<br /><br /><br /></p>