Researchers in South Korea have created a gel that triples the life of an electric car battery when charged at high voltage and significantly reduces the risk of explosion. Advanced energy materials.
This innovation solves an ongoing problem in electric vehicle battery engineering. Higher charging voltages pack more energy into batteries, but this destabilizes the oxygen inside the cathode. This unstable oxygen turns into reactive oxygen species, causing batteries to swell and corrode quickly and risk explosion.
Professor Sung Hyun Jun from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology led the team that developed an anthracene-based gel electrolyte. Researchers from the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology and the Korea Institute of Electronic Technology have collaborated to design a material that prevents reactive oxygen from developing at all.
The gel uses anthracene molecules to grab unstable oxygen atoms where the electrode meets the electrolyte, preventing them from coupling. Paired oxygen atoms create dioxygenases, the building blocks of reactive oxygen species. Anthracene also traps reactive oxygen after it has formed, creating two layers of defense.
Another component of the gel, the nitrile functional groups, holds the nickel atoms in place inside the cathode. This prevents the cathode from losing its shape or shedding the nickel.
“What is unique about this study is that it blocks the generation stage of reactive oxygen species itself.” He said Lead author Lee Jeong-in. “Previously, efforts have been made to neutralize reactive oxygen species after they have formed with antioxidants, or to suppress oxygen generation by manipulating the electrode.”
The test proved the value of the gel.
The gel batteries maintained 81% of their original capacity after 500 full charges at 4.55 volts. Regular batteries dropped to 80% capacity after just 180 full charges. Once the capacity drops to 80%, the batteries will no longer perform well enough for car use, so this gel multiplies battery life by approximately 2.8 times.
The gel also reduces swelling. Conventional batteries expanded by 85 micrometers in tests, but gel-equipped batteries grew by only 13 micrometers (about one-sixth of the expansion).
Longer-lasting batteries mean EV owners can drive their vehicles for additional years without having to replace them, reducing waste. Safer batteries make electric cars more reliable for everyday driving.
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“We have shown that oxygen reactions in high-voltage batteries can be directly controlled at the electrolyte design stage,” Song said. He said. “This principle could be applied to the development of lightweight lithium-ion batteries used in aerospace and large-capacity energy storage systems in the future.”
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