Scientists have created a computer model of a battery that reproduces the state of a real battery in real time. This was reported by the press service of the Swedish Chalmers University of Technology.
In recent years, engineers have been trying to develop larger and more powerful analogues of lithium-ion batteries. In most of the proposed concepts, it is proposed to replace the graphite anode with a lithium one. Without graphite, the battery will be lighter, and lithium metal as the anode and high-capacity cathode materials can also be used. This allows three to five times the energy storage density of current batteries.
However, lithium metal batteries have a major problem: while the battery is charging or discharging, lithium does not always accumulate as evenly and smoothly as it should. Often algae-like microstructures and dendrites form long needle-like protrusions, and some of the accumulated lithium can be isolated and then inactivated. Dendrites can also reach the other battery electrode and cause a short circuit. Therefore, it is extremely important to understand when, how and why these structures are formed.
In this context, Matthew Sadd and colleagues developed a way to observe the battery cell and lithium deposition in real time using X-ray tomographic microscopy. The computer processed this data and built a three-dimensional model based on it in front of the scientists.
“When we saw it with our own eyes it worked on the first try, it was fascinating,” the scientists say. “When we watched how lithium formed structures that looked like gigantic needles, it was almost like participating in a moon landing. We’ve wanted to see the inner workings of batteries in real time for so long, and now we can finally do it.”
The authors hope this will prevent dendrite formation and create workable lithium metal batteries.
Formerly engineers created augmented reality contact lenses.