All-solid-state batteries are attracting growing attention in the media, and in battery research laboratories worldwide. This is hardly surprising, given solid batteries promise of greater safety and density compared to lithium-ion. A new method of spraying electrolyte solution in droplets, could solve the challenge of insufficient contact between anode and electrolyte.
Spraying Droplets of Electrolyte Solution Reduces Bulk
Scientists from Hanyang University in Republic of Korea, and LG Chem Next Generation Materials Research Center, worked together to achieve this milestone. They wanted to avoid the need for bulky electrolyte, which increases battery size, or reduces space for storing energy.
Spraying an electrolyte solution in droplets may seem an obvious solution, although apparently nobody has successfully achieved this before. Indian Chemical News believes that this innovation could greatly increase the prospects of commercializing all-solid-state batteries.
In headline terms, the news channel describes the innovation as spraying an electrolyte solution in fine droplets, These tiny drops then form uniform spherical particles as the solvent evaporates. This method eliminates different particle sizes, that can form voids and reduce all-solid-state battery performance.
Using Recrystallization Technology to Achieve This Goal
The researchers from South Korea used spray recrystallization technology as follows:
- They fine-sprayed a liquefied electrolyte material onto the surface of an anode.
- As it dried, the moisture evaporated, leaving solid uniform spherical particles.
- This method avoided the unevenly-sized electrode particles resulting from other methods.
- As a result, the particles adhered more tightly, allowing lithium ions to flow more easily.
This method increased the prototype battery’s capacity by 15%. It’s ability to fast-discharge also improved by 50%.
The LG Chem Vice Chairman was clearly delighted, when he described spraying electrolyte solution in droplets as a meaningful achievement. “It solves the key task of commercializing all-solid-state batteries,” he continued, “and we are accelerating commercialization”.
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