Batteries for phones and laptops could soon recharge ten times faster and hold a charge ten times larger than current technology allows, following new scientific research.
Scientists at Northwestern University in the US have changed the materials in lithium-ion batteries to boost their abilities.
To achieve such impressive performance enhancements, the researchers essentially poked millions of holes in the battery’s graphene layers using a chemical oxidation process.
Additionally, tweaks were made to the material makeup of the batteries, including packing in more ions and speeding up their movement by replacing sheets of silicon with a different substance.
These changes would evidently allow a battery to charge from 0 to 100% in a miniscule 15 minutes, and last almost a week before needing to be plugged in.
However, the scientists say that the performance improvements decline after just 150 charge cycles, making the new batteries less than durable.
That being said, the batteries would still be a major step up over today’s technology.
Prof Harold Kung, part of the chemical and biological department at Northwestern said: “Even after 150 charges, which would be one year or more of operation, the battery is still five times more effective than lithium-ion batteries on the market today.”
So far, the work done by the team has concentrated on making improvements to anodes – where the current flows into the batteries when they are providing power.
The group now plans to study the cathode – where the current flows out – to make further improvements.
A paper detailing the work of Prof Kung and his co-workers has been published in the journal Advanced Energy Materials.
The researchers indicated that the batteries could hit stores in as little as five years.
