A group of scientists at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in Gwangju, South Korea say they have developed a “universal method” for improving the lifespan of lithium-ion batteries.
A release outlining the breakthrough states that the “advent of electric vehicles has given rise to the demand for lithium-ion batteries with high energy densities. This has led to the development of anodes with large charge storage capacity. Unfortunately, this storage capacity tends to degrade over multiple charge/discharge cycles, reducing the battery life.”
The shortened battery life, it says, is the result of “an irreversible volume change in the anode during cycling, which causes degradation of electrical contacts and structural collapse.”
The sequence of events in the charge/discharge cycle is as follows:
During charging, lithium ions move from the cathode and…