The Press Stories
Since Volta first stacked copper and zinc plates together 200 years ago, battery technology has made significant progress.As technology continues to evolve from lead-acid batteries to lithium ion batteries, there are still many challenges such as achieving higher density and preventing dendrite growth. Experts are competing to solve the world’s growing need for energy efficient and safe batteries.
Electrification of heavy vehicles and aircraft requires high energy density batteries. A research team believes that a paradigm shift is needed to make a significant impact on battery technology in these industries. This modification will use the ion reduction-oxidation mechanism at the lithium-rich positive electrode. The results of a study published in the journal Nature indicate that this ionic oxidation reaction was first observed directly in lithium-rich battery materials.
Cooperative institutions include Carnegie Mellon University, University of Doha, Finland’s Lapinranda-Lahdi University of Technology (LUT) and Japanese companies Kunma University, Japan Institute of Synchronous Radiation Research (Jasri), Yokohama National University, Kyoto University and Ritzumigun.
Lithium-rich oxides are a promising type of cathode material because they have high storage capacities. However, there is a “sum problem” that battery materials must face: the material must be charged quickly, be stable to extreme temperatures, and rotate thousands of times reliably. Scientists need to have a clear understanding of how these oxides work at the atomic level and how their basic electrochemical mechanisms work to solve this problem.
Ordinary lithium ion batteries are powered by caustic redox. When lithium is inserted or removed, the metal ions change their oxidation state. In this insertion frame, each metal ion can store only one lithium ion. However, lithium-rich cathodes can save a lot. Researchers call this the anonic redox mechanism — in this case oxygen redox. It is a high efficiency mechanism of the material and its energy storage is almost double compared to the traditional cathode. Although this redox mechanism has become a major competitor to battery technology, it represents a complete range of material chemistry research.
The team set out to use the Compton scatter to provide conclusive evidence for the redox mechanism. Compton scattering refers to the phenomenon in which photons and particles (usually electrons) interact with each other and deviate from a straight path. Researchers have carried out complex theoretical and experimental studies on the world’s third-generation synchronous radiation facility SPring-8, powered by JASRI. Synchronous radiation consists of a short, powerful beam of electromagnetic radiation that is produced when the electron beam is accelerated (almost) to the speed of light and is forced to travel in a curved path by a magnetic field. Compton knows the scatter. How the electron orbits at the center of the reversible and stable ion redox process were imaged and visualized, their properties and symmetry determined. This scientific endeavor could change the rules of the game for future battery technology.
Although previous studies have offered alternative explanations for the redox mechanism of pineapple, it cannot provide a clear picture of the quantum mechanical electronic orbitals associated with redox reactions because it cannot be measured by standard experiments.
When the research team first saw the consistency between theoretical and experimental results based on the redox characteristics, they realized that the analytical tasks could describe the oxygen level responsible for the redox mechanism, which is very important for battery research.
“We have solid evidence to support the Anon Redox mechanism in lithium-rich battery products,” said Venkat Viswanathan, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. “Our research provides a clear picture of the function of lithium-rich batteries at the atomic level, and proposes the path for the design of next-generation cathodes to perceive the electric plane.
