Nano-spring coating technology boosts EV battery stability
A team of researchers from the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) has developed technology that could increase the lifespan and energy density of electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The research findings were published in the journal ACS Nano.
An electric vehicle battery must maintain its performance while being charged and discharged. However, the charging and discharging process causes the battery’s positive active materials to expand and contract repeatedly, causing microscopic cracks within. As time goes by, the battery performance decreases. To prevent this, researchers are increasing the strength of the cathode active materials by adding reinforcement dopant, but this is not a fundamental solution.
The key to this research is the ‘nano-spring coating’ technology that can design elastic structures. The researchers implemented a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) on the surface of the battery electrode materials. This absorbed strain energy generated from the charging and discharging process prevented cracks and minimised thickness changes in the electrode to improve stability. The researchers effectively suppressed cracks within the battery while improving its lifespan and performance.
This technology enabled researchers to minimise resistance caused by volume changes of the material with only a small amount of conductive material. The research findings also showed an improvement in lifespan by maintaining 78% of the initial battery capacity after 1000 charge and discharge cycles or above.
The technology can be combined with existing battery manufacturing processes, allowing easy mass production and commercialisation. This development could also help to overcome current limitations in battery technology, paving the way for more efficient and durable EV batteries.
Professor Kyu-Young Park from POSTECH said, “With a different approach from existing ones, this research effectively controlled changes that could occur to a battery during the charging and discharging process. This technology can be widely used not only in the secondary battery industry but also in various industries where material durability is important.”
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