But the research team discovered that they could make this “dead” lithium creep like a worm toward one of the electrodes until it reconnects, partially reversing the unwanted process.Īdding this extra step slowed the degradation of their test battery and increased its lifetime by nearly 30%. Researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University may have found a way to revitalize rechargeable lithium batteries, potentially boosting the range of electric vehicles and battery life in next-gen electronic devices.Īs lithium batteries cycle, they accumulate little islands of inactive lithium that are cut off from the electrodes, decreasing the battery’s capacity to store charge. (Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.) Reconnecting with the anode brings the island’ s dead lithium back to life and increases the battery’ s lifetime by nearly 30%. SLAC and Stanford researchers discovered that adding a brief, high-current discharging step right after charging the battery nudges the island to grow in the direction of the anode, or negative electrode. Lithium metal accumulates at the negative end of the island and dissolves at the positive end this continual growth and dissolution causes the back-and-forth movement seen here. The movement of lithium ions back and forth through the electrolyte creates areas of negative (blue) and positive (red) charge at the ends of the island, which swap places as the battery charges and discharges. An animation shows how charging and discharging a lithium battery test cell causes an island of “dead,” or detached, lithium metal to creep back and forth between the electrodes.
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