Researchers at the University of Surrey have achieved a breakthrough in the development of lithium-CO₂ dials.
They showed how the use of another catalyst material can overcome problems with current Li-CO₂ batteries, which makes them more profitable and more environmentally friendly.
LI-CO₂ batteries are considered the next border energy storage technology because today's lithium-ion batteries can significantly exceed. You have a high energy density and reduce carbon emissions by absorb CO2. However, the most important challenges for the commercially profitable production of the batteries include quick wear, charging and rare materials such as platinum.
Charging a LI-CO₂ battery requires the breakdown of lithium carbonate (Li₂Co₃), which is formed as part of the chemical reaction to release lithium and CO₂.
“One of the biggest challenges in these batteries is something that is called” overpotential “, the additional energy that is necessary to get the reaction going.
In order to overcome this “overpotential”, the right catalyst material must be printed on the porous positive electrode. However, these catalysts usually consist of expensive, rare metals.
The team found an alternative catalyst, caesium phomolybdat (CPM), which is inexpensive and can be produced at room temperature.
To understand how CPM worked, the researchers have dismantled the battery after charging and discharge to examine the chemical changes inside. They found that LI₂Co₃ could be reliably built and removed, which is of crucial importance for long -term use.
The computer modeling then showed how CPM offered the ideal surface for important chemical reactions. It was shown that the material makes the battery stable for 107 cycles and at the same time stores the load quantity of a lithium-ion battery 2.5 times.
“We have shown that CPM flatten this hill, which means that the battery loses far less energy with every load and discharge,” said Gadkari.
Daniel Commander, co-author of the study, said: “What is exciting about this discovery is that she combines a strong performance with simplicity.
“We have shown that it is possible to build efficient lithium-CO₂ batteries with affordable, scalable materials-no rare metals. Our results also open the door for the design of even better catalysts in the future.”
If these batteries are commercially commercially commercially used, these batteries can reduce emissions from vehicles and industrial sources – and scientists even imagine that they could operate on Mars, where the atmosphere is 95% CO₂.
The Surrey team will now carry out further examinations of how these catalysts interact with electrodes and electrolytes. You will also concentrate the upcoming tests on the evaluation of how the battery develops under different CO₂ press.