Scientists have announced a breakthrough in understanding how batteries work, which could lead to “big leaps” in battery performance. Researchers at Dundee and Warwick universities have identified for the first time the key role oxygen plays in storing and releasing a battery’s energy.
Oxygen's Active Role in Battery Chemistry
It was previously thought that during charging, activity was concentrated in metal elements like nickel, cobalt, or iron, with oxygen being “passive”. However, advanced computer modelling and laboratory experiments revealed oxygen participates actively in charging and discharging.
Dr Hrishit Banerjee, a theoretical physicist at Dundee’s faculty of science, engineering and business, said: “Global populations have become increasingly reliant on renewable energy technologies and advanced energy storage systems from everything from the mobile phones in our pockets to the cars we drive. This has made understanding the technology underpinning electronic processes inside battery materials increasingly important.”
Implications for Faster, Safer, Longer-Lasting Batteries
The findings could lead to batteries for electronics and vehicles that charge faster, last longer, and are safer. The study compared two main lithium-ion battery cathodes: phosphates and layered oxides. While phosphates showed little oxygen participation, layered oxides exhibited “significant” electron extraction from oxygen.
Dr Banerjee added: “By improving our knowledge of what is occurring at a tiny, atomic level within batteries, we can make big leaps in improving their performance in the real world. Current technologies are limited by the understanding of the underlying physics of how and why batteries fail over time. This general framework will help design batteries with much longer lifetimes.”
The full findings have been published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
