Rice University Develops Tape to Make Lithium Batteries Better

Sticky bits make better lithium batteries. Rice University's scientific research team used tape as an entry point and combined with some advanced laser technology, developed a promising new electrode material. This material can overcome the long-standing problems of current lithium batteries and is expected to greatly improve the performance of the battery.

Using techniques similar to those they employed to develop laser-induced graphene, Rice chemist James Tour and his colleagues turned adhesive tape into a silicon oxide film that replaces troublesome anodes in lithium metal batteries. Lithium metal battery refers to a battery that replaces graphite traditionally used as an anode (one of two electrodes) with pure metal lithium. Because this material has a very high energy density, metal lithium can greatly accelerate the charging speed of the battery, and the capacity can also reach 10 times.

However, lithium batteries also have some shortcomings. One of the more troublesome points is "dendrites". During charging, these dendritic protrusions will form on the surface of the anode, and may lead to battery short circuit, failure, or fire, so a lot of battery research has focused on strangling them.

The scientific research team from Rice University has made breakthroughs in this field. The team attached the tape to the copper current collector that forms part of the lithium anode. The layer formed when they stuck the tape to a copper current collector and lased it multiple times to quickly raise its temperature to 2,300 Kelvin (3,680 degrees Fahrenheit). That generated a porous coating composed primarily of silicon and oxygen, combined with a small amount of carbon in the form of graphene.

This process turns the tape into a porous coating, mainly composed of silicon, oxygen, and a small amount of the magic material graphene. Preliminary experiments on the film show that it can be used as a protective layer for current collector components, which can both absorb and release metallic lithium without allowing harmful dendrites to grow.

In its laser-induced silicon oxide protective coating, the Rice University team may have found a way to use these positive factors without increasing the extra lithium burden. Experiments show that the battery with its new coating shows three times the life of other "zero excess" lithium metal batteries, retaining 70% of its capacity in 60 charge and discharge cycles.

The Rice University team said that the tape technology for lithium batteries is fast and safe, does not involve solvents, and can be performed at room temperature. Therefore, it has high hopes that it has the potential to expand.

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