Say goodbye to battery anxiety: Researchers in Australia developed a lithium-sulfur cell capable of powering a smartphone for five consecutive days.
I repeat: FIVE. CONSECUTIVE. DAYS.
That’s 120 hours of snapping selfies, liking updates, swiping right, streaming videos, dodging calls, listening to music, navigating, playing games, reading books, calculating tips, learning languages, and shopping.
A team from Monash University in Melbourne developed an ultra-high-capacity Li-S battery that boasts higher performance and lower environmental impact than current lithium-ion products.
Professors Mahdokht Shaibani, Mainak Majumder, and Matthew Hill describe their patented manufacturing process and research in a paper published recently in the journal Science Advances.
Using the same materials as standard lithium-ion batteries, researchers reconfigured the design of sulfur cathodes to accommodate higher stress loads without a drop in overall capacity.
Matthew Hill (left), Mahdokht Shaibani (center), and Mainak Majumder (right) with the lithium-sulphur battery design (via Monash University)
Inspired by unique bridging architecture (first recorded in 1970s detergent powders), the team engineered a method that creates bonds between particles—to accommodate stress and deliver a level of stability not previously seen in any battery.
“This approach not only favors high performance metrics and long cycle life,” Hill said in a statement, “but is also simple and extremely low-cost to manufacture, using water-based processes, and can lead to significant reductions in environmentally hazardous waste.”
The development—”a breakthrough for Australian industry,” according to Majumder—could transform the way phones, cars, computers, and solar grids are made.
In theory, the battery could keep an electric vehicle running for more than 621 miles before needing to “refuel.”
Prototype cells developed in Germany will be tested this year.
The idea of adding sulfur to lithium for a cheaper, lighter, more environmentally friendly, longer-lasting battery is not new.
Researchers have previously coated Li-S cells with a super thin metallic layer of molybdenum, in an effort to counteract sulfur’s weaknesses (namely stability and conductivity).
The process, though not yet widely adopted, means lithium-sulfur batteries do work, and could be manufactured and used on a commercial scale.
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