An international team of scientists has developed a battery that can store up to five times more energy than lithium-ion batteries. The prototype, which is still in the experimental stages, is called lithium-air because it releases oxygen when discharged.
In the current design of lithium-air batteries, these batteries use lithium peroxide. The positive terminal of these batteries is lithium, a metal that reacts with oxygen in the air and stores energy in chemical layers. Lithium peroxide is not the most efficient method, so researchers are still working on an alternative solution.
Now the team of researchers has developed a method that, instead of storing energy in lithium peroxide, which discharges very quickly, could be much more efficient and show a longer battery life in practice. When the battery is being charged, the lithium turns into positive ions and combines with the oxides. When in use, the lithium and oxide are separated from each other, they release the energy needed.
Lithium superoxide has another huge advantage: it has a closed system, similar to lithium-ion batteries. Being closed means it doesn’t require any additional components and only needs to be charged, similar to other batteries we use today.
Final word
This new discovery in the field of batteries could easily pave the way for further development of this type of battery. In addition to the battery life that we want to increase, the number of battery charging cycles should also increase. We hope to soon see these types of batteries, which can store five times more energy and hold a charge for five times longer than current batteries, in smartphones and tablets.
