Electric vehicles are infinitely better for the environment than petrol-powered ones, but they have yet to become widespread. One of the problems holding back this shift is the fact that electric vehicles take a long time to charge.
Increasing charging speeds
This could change soon. According to a TechXplore report released Thursday, a research team affiliated with multiple institutions in China has successfully increased the charging speed of a lithium-ion battery pack to a rate of 5.6 minutes for a 60 percent charge. They achieved this impressive feat by adding copper & nanowire to battery’s anode to effectively improve ordering.
Today, most anodes are made of graphite and are constructed in a disordered slurry, which is not a practical method of passing current. Also, the way the materials are line-up on the anodes creates a problem related to the size of the gap between them.
To overcome these speeding-up charging problems, the researchers specifically focused on the anode. This is what they did:
Making changes to a standard graphite anode
“First, they performed particle-level theoretical models to optimize the spatial distribution of particles of different sizes and electrode porosity. They then used what they learned from the models to make modifications to a standard graphite anode. They coated it with copper and then added copper nanowires to slurry. They then heated & cooled the anode, which compressed slurry into a more ordered material,” TechXplore said.
After upgrading their anode, the researchers placed them in a standard lithium-ion battery to measure the time it took to charge. They were impressed that they could charge the battery to 60% in just 5.6 minutes and 80% in just 11.4 minutes.( The researchers averted trying out how lengthy it would take to charge to 100% due to the fact doing so can cause harm to such batteries.)
Researchers have not specified how much such a battery will cost or when it will be ready for production. However, the development of electric vehicles around the world is exciting.
The study was published in the journal Science Advances.
