Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/10/11/lithium_sulfur_nanotube_battery/
Nanotubes, sulfur expand battery storage
Blast-proof battery boffins back
Posted in Science, 11th October 2011 01:30 GMT
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The group that last year gave the world the unexplodable lithium battery is back, this time using a combination of nanotubes, sulfur and an electrolyte additive to achieve what they say is a tenfold improvement in capacity.
In particular, the group, led by Stanford University’s Yi Cui, believes the sulfur-coated carbon nanotube cathode is a key step in improving battery life – fast becoming a bottleneck for a host of technologies, from smartphones and tablets all the way up to electric cars and green power, all of which suffer from energy density constraints.
“I strongly believe that’s a promising future choice to make better batteries,” Cui told [1] Futurity.
Last year, the group was in the news [2] at the other end of the battery. They added silicon nanowires to the anode of the battery, creating what they say is a safer battery while at the same time increasing capacity and using cheaper and less toxic materials than are used in lithium-ion batteries.
Lithium sulfur-based batteries are a focus for research because they offer high charge density. However, using the material in a conventional battery design only yields a device of short life. Futurity explains that this is because the sulfur is exposed to and reacts with the electrolyte.
The carbon nanotubes protect the sulfur from this, making lithium-sulfur batteries a better candidate for commercialization. The research is published [3] in Nano Letters. ®