China has developed the first battery that uses water as a liquid solution to dissolve electrolytes. The model offers twice the capacity of current lithium batteries and 1,000 charge cycles.
Lithium batteries are presented as the protagonists of the transition towards more sustainable mobility models, but the industry is looking for more efficient alternatives. A study carried out in China has developed a water-based battery that is safer than the current ones.
The main problems with lithium batteries are the scarcity of materials, the difficulty of recycling them efficiently and how flammable they are. The model would eliminate these conditions and guarantee good long-term results.
The research team assures that These batteries will have twice the energy density of lithium-ion batteries.has reported Interesting Engineering. Greater autonomy could revolutionize the electric vehicle industry.
Water batteries use this liquid as a solvent for electrolytes, a component that allows the battery to charge and discharge.
This is not the first experiment that has been carried out, but the previous ones have not presented good results: they have a lower energy capacity due to the lower solubility of the electrolyte and the low voltage.
The battery works by halogen multi-electron transfer
China has found the solution to the models that were being developed in recent years. The battery designed by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) uses halogen multi-electron transfer.
This is possible thanks to a bromine-iodine cathode. The battery has a capacity of more than 840 ampere hours per liter (Ah/L) and a density of 1200 watt hours per liter (Wh/L)according to Nature Energy.
The energy density of water batteries has been improved with a solution of iodide (I-) and bromide (Br-) ions as the electrolyte. These components create a chemical reaction that allows the transfer of multiple electronstransforming the iodide into iodine (I2) and then iodate (IO3-).
The research has achieved that the bromide added to the electrolyte is converted into polar iodine bromide (IBr) during the charging process. This component reacts with water to form iodate through oxidation, then is transferred to the positive side of the battery.
Iodate oxidizes bromine during the discharge process, making it a reversible process. Bromide is an intermediate that optimizes the electrochemical reaction.
The water battery could reach 1,000 charge cycles
Lithium batteries begin to degrade with use, another of the challenges facing the automotive industry. The researchers assure that The useful life of water batteries could be 1,000 charge cycleswhich shows that the process is stable.
Scientists are optimistic about the first results. The energy density even exceeds that of some solid electrodes and the manufacturing cost could be similar to that of current lithium-ion batteries.
The project still has a long way to go, but High-density water batteries could change the way energy is stored in networks and even in electric cars.
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Tags: innovation, studies, Batteries, Repub, china
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