Natural Molecule to Boost the Performance of Electrodes for Rechargeable Batteries
July 25, 2017 | KITEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Chlorophyll, blood, and vitamin B12 are all based on the porphyrin molecule. But porphyrin can also be used as an electrode material where it speeds up the charging process of rechargeable batteries. In the “Angewandte Chemie International Edition” journal, researchers from KIT now present the new material system that could mark the beginning of an era of high-performance energy storage and supercapacitors.
Currently, the most widely used battery technology is based on lithium ions. No other rechargeable storage device for electric energy has comparable application properties. Thus, lithium ion batteries are currently indispensable for devices such as laptops, smartphones, or cameras, even though improved properties such as quick-charging would be desirable. Many materials that improve the properties of lithium ion batteries in the lab, however, are no sustainable options because they are rare, expensive, toxic or harmful to the environment. Ideally, high-performance energy storage materials would be based on renewable resources.
An interdisciplinary research group headed by Professor Maximilian Fichtner of Helmholtz Institute Ulm, founded and organized by KIT, and Professor Mario Ruben from the KIT Institute of Nanotechnology, now presents a new energy storage material that allows a very fast and reversible inclusion of lithium ions. For this purpose, functional groups were added to the organic copper porphyrin molecule that produce structural and electro-conductive crosslinking of the material when the battery cell is charged for the first time. This significantly stabilizes the structure of the electrode in lab tests and allows several thousands of charge-discharge cycles.
With this material, storage capacities of 130-170 milliamp-hours per gram (mAh/g) were measured in the lab – at a medium voltage of 3 Volt – and charging-discharging times of only one minute. Current experiments suggest that the storage capacity can be increased by another 100 mAh/g and that the storage system can be operated not only with lithium, but also with the much more abundant sodium.
“Porphyrins occur very often in nature and are the basic constituents of chlorophyll, of human and animal blood pigment (hemoglobin), and of vitamin B12,” Fichtner explains. Technical variants of these materials are already in use, e.g. for blue-colored toner in laser printers or for car paint. By bonding functional groups to porphyrin, the scientists succeeded to leverage its specific properties in electrochemical electric storage systems for the first time. “The storage properties are exceptional because the material has the storage capacity of a battery, but works as fast as a supercapacitor,” Fichtner says.
About the Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) of KIT
The HIU was established in January 2011 by KIT, member of the Helmholtz Association, in cooperation with Ulm University. With the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW), two other renowned institutions are involved in the HIU as associated partners. The international team of about 110 scientists at HIU works on the further development of the fundamentals of viable energy storage systems for stationary and mobile use.
Suggested Items
The Chemical Connection: Reducing Etch System Water Usage, Part 2
05/02/2024 | Don Ball -- Column: The Chemical ConnectionIn my last column, I reviewed some relatively simple ways to reduce water usage in existing etch systems: cutting down cooling coil water flow, adding chillers to replace plant water for cooling, lowering flow rate nozzles for rinses, etc. This month, I’ll continue with more ways to control water usage in your etcher. Most of these are not easily retrofittable to existing equipment but should be given serious consideration when new equipment is contemplated. With the right combination of add-ons, it is possible to bring the amount of water used in an etch system to almost zero.
Designer’s Notebook: What Designers Need to Know About Manufacturing, Part 2
04/24/2024 | Vern Solberg -- Column: Designer's NotebookThe printed circuit board (PCB) is the primary base element for providing the interconnect platform for mounting and electrically joining electronic components. When assessing PCB design complexity, first consider the component area and board area ratio. If the surface area for the component interface is restricted, it may justify adopting multilayer or multilayer sequential buildup (SBU) PCB fabrication to enable a more efficient sub-surface circuit interconnect.
Insulectro’s 'Storekeepers' Extend Their Welcome to Technology Village at IPC APEX EXPO
04/03/2024 | InsulectroInsulectro, the largest distributor of materials for use in the manufacture of PCBs and printed electronics, welcomes attendees to its TECHNOLOGY VILLAGE during this year’s IPC APEX EXPO at the Anaheim Convention Center, April 9-11, 2024.
ENNOVI Introduces a New Flexible Circuit Production Process for Low Voltage Connectivity in EV Battery Cell Contacting Systems
04/03/2024 | PRNewswireENNOVI, a mobility electrification solutions partner, introduces a more advanced and sustainable way of producing flexible circuits for low voltage signals in electric vehicle (EV) battery cell contacting systems.
Heavy Copper PCBs: Bridging the Gap Between Design and Fabrication, Part 1
04/01/2024 | Yash Sutariya, Saturn Electronics ServicesThey call me Sparky. This is due to my talent for getting shocked by a variety of voltages and because I cannot seem to keep my hands out of power control cabinets. While I do not have the time to throw the knife switch to the off position, that doesn’t stop me from sticking screwdrivers into the fuse boxes. In all honesty, I’m lucky to be alive. Fortunately, I also have a talent for building high-voltage heavy copper circuit boards. Since this is where I spend most of my time, I can guide you through some potential design for manufacturability (DFM) hazards you may encounter with heavy copper design.