Solid, Man! Electrolytes Go Granular

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Most liquid battery electrolytes that conduct ions between anode and cathode also carry with them a flammability problem, especially as chemists try to pack more power into smaller batteries.  Recent fires which have grounded all Boeing 787s in the world highlight the danger. The blog has noted before the dangers of overcharging lithium batteries and especially of leaving even model airplane sized packs lying about unattended during charging. Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers claim to have demonstrated safety advantages with a nanoporous electrolyte, according to a January 23, 2013 release.  ORNL’s Chengdu Liang says, “To make a safer, lightweight battery, we need the design at the beginning to have safety in mind.  We started with a conventional material that is highly stable in a battery system – in particular one that is compatible with a lithium metal anode.” In line with objectives set by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, using pure lithium metal as an anode could produce batteries with …