A Longer Life for Lithium Ion Batteries

A Longer Life for Lithium Ion Batteries

A Longer Life for Lithium Ion Batteries

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of a cross-section of Guo and Wang's silicon scaffold anode.
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of a cross-section of Guo and Wang's silicon scaffold anode.

Recently published research by Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering assistant professor Chunsheng Wang and postdoctoral research associate Dr. Juchen Guo describes the synthesis of a new and improved electrode composite for use in rechargeable lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries that could substantially increase their functional lifespan.

Rechargeable Li-ion batteries are used in a wide range of products and equipment, and have shown potential for use in electric vehicles. But before that can happen, Guo says, they need to be more durable and store and put out more power.

"A current challenge to developing lithium ion batteries with higher energy is replacing the current low capacity negative electrode, which is made of graphite, with a new material with a much higher capacity," he explains. "Silicon is a good candidate in terms of its capacity, which is ten times higher. However, the great shortcoming of silicon is that during the charge/discharge process, silicon particles undergo large changes in their volume as the lithium ions are inserted and extracted. This causes a lot of stress, and as a result the silicon particles will eventually be pulverized, and the battery's electrode structure will be demolished."

Most previous research on this problem focused on the nano-sized silicon particles themselves, or silicon nanowires, but improvement was limited. Guo and Wang came up with a different approach.

"The idea was to incorporate nano-size silicon particles into a 3D scaffold structure made of polymer," says Guo. "The porous structure of the scaffold can accommodate the volume change of the silicon particles, keeping the electrode intact and increasing the lifespan of the battery. Our results demonstrate a significantly improved cycle life compared to those reported in most of the previous studies."

For More Information:

Juchen Guo and Chunsheng Wang. "A polymer scaffold binder structure for high capacity silicon anode of lithium-ion battery," Chem. Commun. 2010, 46, 1428–1430 »

Visit Professor Wang's web site »

Related Articles:
UMD Engineers Discover Root Cause of Solid-State Battery Failure
ChBE PhD Candidate Wins MRS Gold Award
New Nanocomposite Anodes Speed Battery Charging
All-In-One: $300K for Development of Interface-Free Battery
New Sustainable Zinc Battery Design Could Address Future Energy Needs
Chunsheng Wang Presents to U.S. Government Panel on Advances in Li-Ion Battery Technology
Building Energy Innovation in Maryland
New government partner joins UMD’s Center for Research in Extreme Batteries
ARL to Fund $30M in Equipment Innovations for Service Members
University of Maryland leads team awarded $7.2M from Army Research Lab

September 20, 2010


Prev   Next

Current Headlines

UMD Alumnus Selected as Vertical Flight Society’s New Executive Director

Energy Secretary and Maryland Governor visit with MEI2 startups

UMD Researchers Help Measure DART’s Success

Celebrating Women in Aerospace Engineering: Pauline Annen

Alumnus Chance Glenn Establishes Morningbird Foundation Scholarship at UMD

Safe Lithium Batteries Get a Boost

UMD’s Das Named Emerging Investigator

2023 Energy Seed Grants Provide Launchpad for Local Startups

News Resources

Return to Newsroom

Search News

Archived News

Events Resources

Events Calendar