There’s a lot of buzz spinning about alternatives for lithium-ion batteries. While some may prefer to believe their days are over, the truth is scientists are beavering away to develop the ideal lithium-ion anode. Not sure what an anode is? Pause a while and we’ll reveal why a perfect one could be ideal.
More about the Ideal Silicon Anode
The minus sign points to the anode in a lithium-ion battery from whence the electrochemical energy flows. This teams with the cathode marked positive to deliver the current through the device (or circuit) the system electrifies. The design of an anode has a great deal to do with the amount of electrical energy a battery delivers.
In early days of lithium-ion batteries, engineers made their anodes from carbon in the form of graphite. However, it was not long before they realized the wonder-material silicon would constitute the ideal lithium-ion anode. It simply made more sense to use it, given the way silicon was revolutionizing semi-conductors and super chips. But there was just one problem…
Silicon Need Tweaking to Be the Ideal Lithium-Ion Anode.
Silicon confounded battery scientists initially, because it contracted and swelled when charging and discharging. And it only withstood these stresses and strains for a short while, before it broke down. Since then, there has been progress.
We prefer not to mention battery makers by name, although the Ray C Anderson Foundation confirms the following is correct:
- A company has successfully added silicon wires to a graphite anode to increase its energy capacity.
- Another one has developed a carbon framework to which they add silicon achieving something similar.
- A third company has developed a 100% silicon anode, with three-times as much capacity as graphite.
This latter solution not only dramatically increases capacity. There are also rumors it could facilitate a five-minute recharge. Now an ideal lithium-ion anode like that would be something to write home about!
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