Gasgoo Automotive News Battery electrode materials need to have a variety of properties. They need to have good conductivity to transport charge as ions shuttle between electrodes. They also need to have an open structure that allows ions to move freely before reaching the storage location. The storage of large amounts of ions can also cause the material to expand, creating mechanical stress that leads to a gradual decay of the electrode material’s structure.
Image source: Journal “Nature”
Because it is difficult for a single material to have all of these properties, many electrodes are composite, with one chemical used to enter and exit the electrode, another to store ions, and possibly a third chemical to provide high conductivity. However, this can introduce new problems, with breakdowns at the material interface gradually reducing the battery’s capacity.
According to foreign media reports, an international joint research team has come up with a material that seems to be able to do all this. It has reasonable conductivity that allows lithium ions to move around and find a storage location, and it’s made from inexpensive and common elements. Perhaps most importantly, it has a self-healing feature that smooths out damage during the charge-discharge cycle.
High capacity
