IRG-I Highlight
Carbon nanotubes dramatically increase lithium battery capacity
Image: TEM image of an LBL-MWNT electrode slice, showing pore sizes on the order of ~20 nm. |
Shao-Horn of IRG-I and Hammond of IRG-II have found that using carbon nanotubes to fabricate a lithium battery’s electrodes produced a significant increase in the amount of power it could deliver, compared to a conventional lithium-ion battery. To produce the powerful new electrode material, the team used a layer-by-layer fabrication method, in which a base material is alternately dipped in solutions containing carbon nanotubes — a form of pure carbon in which sheets of carbon atoms are rolled up into tiny tubes. Lithium batteries with the new material demonstrate energy output that is five times greater than for conventional capacitors, and a total power delivery rate 10 times that of lithium-ion batteries. In addition to their high power output, the carbon-nanotube electrodes showed very good stability over time. After 1,000 cycles of charging and discharging a test battery, there was no detectable change in the material’s performance. In its present form, the material might have applications for small, portable electronic devices, but if the reported high-power capability were demonstrated in a much thicker form, it might eventually be suitable for other applications such as hybrid cars.
S.W. Lee, N. Yabuuchi, B.M. Gallant, S. Chen, B.-S, Kim, P.T. Hammond, and Y. Shao-Horn. High-power lithium batteries from functionalized carbon-nanotube electrodes. Nature Nanotechnology 5, 531-537 (20 June 2010) doi:10.1038/nnano.2010.116 Article
