Issue 17
Week 22-28 April 2019
Welcome to the new edition of our Last Week In Batteries digest!
This weekly digest of developments in the battery space is intended as a demonstration of what one can do with Avogadro One. Avogadro One allows capturing relevant news easily and quickly, saving you valuable time. If you want to know when you can use Avogadro One for your own research, please sign up to our mailing list here. We would also be happy to hear any feedback.
This is a very basic review of last week's events relevant to the battery and fuel cell industries. We do not pretend to be experts in this space but as investors we find such an overview helpful. The digest is intentionally very brief and dry and is intended as a demonstration rather as an end product. We'd love to hear what tools/software/platforms you use to stay abreast of the events in your industries of interest: please answer our anonymous questionnaire.
Research on singlet oxygen in Li-oxygen batteries
Chemists from TU Graz have published research about how singlet oxygen affects the performance of lithium-oxygen batteries. They propose to use nature-inspired mediators and quenchers which can also improve the performance of Li-ion batteries.
Impact areas: Li-ion and Li-oxygen battery performance and durability
Fluorescent electrodes
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Ocean University of China in Qingdao have coated lithium anodes with a fluorescent chemical to distinguish between dendrites and "dead" lithium in degraded Li-ion batteries. This method should help scientists understand the process of degradation in Li-ion batteries and come up with improvements.
Impact areas: Li-ion battery durability and performance
Robust supercapacitor material
Scientists from Washington University in St. Louis have created a nonflammable, shatterproof supercapacitor that can withstand "an impact equivalent to a car collision at 30 mph." In tests, the supercapacitor retained 74% of its capacity after 40 hammer strikes.
Impact areas: Supercapacitor safety
Source: https://source.wustl.edu/2019/04/takes-a-licking-and-keeps-on-storing/
Boron nitride nanofilm improves lithium metal batteries
Engineers from Columbia University in the City of New York have covered the lithium anode with a boron nitride nanocoating to prevent the formation of dendrites in solid-state lithium metal batteries. The coating is just 5-10 nanometers thin but is effective at protecting the electrolyte from the corrosive lithium without affecting energy density.
Impact areas: Lithium metal battery durability and safety
Source: https://engineering.columbia.edu/press-release/yuan-yang-longer-lithium-battery
Quantified solid electrolyte data
Materials scientists from Stanford University and Oxford University have published a paper where they compiled "data and machine learned models" on solid Li--ion electrolyte materials. They share insights and recommendations that may help identify new solid electrolyte materials for future generations of batteries.
Impact areas: Solid-state battery performance and research
Source: https://arxiv.org/abs/1904.08996
If you're finding this blog useful, please consider answering our questionnaire to help us understand how you manage the information load in your daily life (work and leisure).