A team of researchers has succeeded in creating a flexible battery based on an abundant and very easy to find material. The result paves the way for cheaper and more environmentally friendly batteries.
For as long as our devices have been running on batteryresearchers work tirelessly to propose more efficient and more environmentally friendly models. But the vast majority of current batteries are still made up of lithium. A rare resource, expensive to extract, which requires a lot of water and energy, not to mention that its recycling is complex, leading to waste and pollution.
We are just starting to find alternatives like Microsoft which used artificial intelligence to review potential candidates. The use of sodium is also a reality that will benefit electric cars. The material used by Chinese researchers is different. It is the divalent metal (which has two functions) the most abundant on Earth : THE calcium. The problem is that as it stands, it allows you to create high energy density batteriesbut very limited in use. They can only be recharged a few times at room temperature before giving up the ghost.
This economical and ecological flexible battery can be woven to recharge a smartphone
To overcome this problem, the team of scientists used not calcium oxide, but calcium peroxide. You have them around you without knowing it. It is found in toothpaste, chewing gum, rubber, certain foods, etc. The battery thus created supports 700 charge cyclesand especially, she is flexible. L’electrolytethe conductive substance, is here composed of calcium-covered carbon nanotubes. Another nanotube surrounds the assembly to form the cathode, where the energy comes out.
Result: the researchers wove the fibers thus obtained into a kind of towel capable of charging a smartphone, as can be seen in the illustration photo of this article. Although the possibilities are numerous, for the moment it is a concept far from being marketable. Battery charging is still ineffective sinceit requires more energy than it can subsequently deliver. Once this problem is resolved, however, it will pave the way for batteries almost exclusively made of inexpensive and widely accessible materials.
Source: Chemistry World