(source: chemistryworld)
According to foreign media, researchers at Nanjing University have developed positive electrodes using materials that can absorb sunlight to make lithium air batteries work at low temperatures.
Lithium air battery with inorganic solid electrolyte has the potential to surpass lithium-ion battery and become the preferred electrochemical energy storage technology for electric vehicles. Most battery systems use liquid electrolytes, which have poor safety and thermal stability. In theory, lithium air system has high energy density. However, when the temperature drops below 0 ℃, the lithium air battery with solid electrolyte will lose most of its capacity and power.
Haoshen Zhou, a researcher at Nanjing University, and his colleagues have developed a porous positive electrode embedded with a mixed ruthenium nanostructure, enabling the lithium air battery to work at ultra-low temperatures. In this key component, the arrangement of nanostructures can lead to plasma enhanced solar photothermal effect. In other words, it can effectively convert sunlight into heat energy. As long as there is enough sunlight, the battery can be locally heated and work in very cold conditions. The batteries developed by the team exhibit high discharge capacity at - 73 ° C and record cycle life at - 73 ° C and room temperature.
Colm O'Dwyer, a chemical energy expert at the University of cork in Ireland, said: "researchers put specific metals in electrodes to interact with light, so as to improve the conductivity of the whole system, so that it can work at low temperature. Basically, the photothermal effect can significantly reduce the internal resistance of the battery. Through the photo thermal effect, the light is converted into heat, which prevents the resistance from increasing with the decrease of temperature, so as to keep the battery active. This method is really impressive. " However, O'Dwyer emphasizes that controllable light source is the key to ensure the system work.
Zhou hopes to apply the battery to electric vehicles and other fields. Marca doeff of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (US) said: "as with all new concepts, in order to evaluate cycle life, performance and cost, and test whether the battery can meet the expected application, in-depth testing and evaluation are needed."
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