Researchers from South Korea have tried a totally new approach to creating a new lithium ion battery made from a porous solid. Although lithium ion batteries have low weight, high energy and slow loss of charge compared with lead acid batteries, they still have some drawbacks, such as fire or explosion risk. While a new battery greatly improves its performance as well as reducing the risks due to overheating.

The new battery is built from pumpkin-shaped molecules called cucurbit[6]uril (CB[6]) which are organized in a honeycomb-like structure. This special physical structure enables the lithium ions of a battery diffuse more freely than in conventional lithium ion batteries. After the test, researchers found that the porous CB[6] solid electrolytes showed impressive lithium ion conductivity. When the batteries were cycled at temperatures between 298 K and 373 K ( 24.85° C and 99.85° C) for four days, they showed no thermal runaway and hardly any change in conductivity. What’s more, various conventional liquid electrolytes can incorporate in a porous CB[6] framework and be converted to safer solid lithium electrolytes.

Tags :   Lithium ion batteries   porous solid