While the European Union plans to bring back the removable batteries on smartphones, research continues to make great strides. While some scientists think about the device safety thanks to innovative materials such as graphene, there are only others who think about the life of lithium batteries. An international team of researchers based at theUniversity of Queensland published a study in the journal Nature Communications with a discovery that could interest the world of smartphones. But not only.
A research opens to the hopes of users: batteries for smartphones, laptops and more will be able to last twice as long. Here's how it's possible
University of Queensland scholars have succeeded in developing an AI battery lithium ion which has twice the life span of a conventional battery. With higher energy density and fewer precious metals, this can be stable for over a thousand cycles. By distributing cobalt to the cathodes, the researchers found that an extremely thin 'epiaxial' layer (a method of depositing a single crystal film on a single crystal substrate) made of lanthanum, nickel, manganese and oxygen could protect the battery from corrosion.
The crystalline layer has one thickness of only one atom, therefore it does not require large amounts of material. Curious thing: the operation of the batteries in this new type is similar to conventional ones. Lianzhou Wang, author of the study and a researcher at the university, says (via Cosmos):
Our process will increase the battery life of various devices, from smartphones and laptops to power tools and electric vehicles. The battery can operate at high voltage - around 4.5V, compared to 3.7V for a normal lithium-ion battery. This means that a higher power density can be provided
Now, the researchers plan to commercialize the technology and say it could be ready for the market in the next two or three years on smartphones, tablets, notebooks and electric vehicles.
