Larger figure Researchers from South Korea’s Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) and Stanford University have demonstrated the feasibility of a hybrid anode for Li-ion batteries using silicon-nanolayer-embedded graphite/carbon. In “Scalable synthesis of silicon-nanolayer-embedded graphite for high-energy lithium-ion batteries,” published in Nature Energy, Minseong Ko and colleagues explain that this architecture allows compatibility… Read more »

In pursuit of their quest for more capable batteries, scientists are searching for better ways to observe battery particles as they charge and discharge in real time. A new technique developed at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source is providing researchers with nanoscale images of the electrochemical reactions that make lithium-ion batteries do their thing. In… Read more »

Battery boffins are buzzing about silicon anodes, which could store up to 10 times more energy than today’s anodes. The catch is that silicon particles tend to swell and crack during cycling, and to react with the electrolyte in unwanted ways. Now a team from Stanford University and the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator… Read more »

As the search for a better battery grinds on, a lot of the attention is focused on potential cathode materials. Nickel is one possibility that shows a lot of promise – its drawback is that it is unstable and tends to have destructive reactions with the electrolyte. Now a team of scientists from the Brookhaven… Read more »

Stanford researchers have invented a new technology that could eliminate thermal runaway in high-energy-density batteries. Thermal runaway refers to a chain reaction in which an increase in temperature causes further increases in temperature and uncontrollable release of energy. In “Fast and reversible thermoresponsive polymer switching materials for safer batteries,” published in Nature Energy, Professor Zhenan Bao and… Read more »