Making batteries last longer
11 Apr 2001
Researchers at Lightyear Technologies are applying a new group of semi-conducting, corrosion resistant, 'smart materials' to improve the life of nickel metal hydride electrode materials in batteries.
The cost of metal hydride alloy contributes significantly to the cost of the battery. The alloys are expensive because the choice of hydrides is limited by the reactivity of the alloy in the electrolyte.
Lightyear's approach to this problem is to encapsulate these metal hydrides in its own proprietary Two Dimensional Materials (TDM). TDM does not react with the battery electrolyte and, furthermore, it allows passage of hydrogen through it. Therefore, it protects the alloy from the electrolyte, which in turn results in a longer cycle life.
By protecting metal hydrides from the electrolyte, the choice of metal hydrides used in batteries can be expanded. Hence Lightwave anticipates that lower cost alloys may soon be used in commercial nickel metal hydride batteries.
Aside from batteries, these new semi-conducting, corrosion resistant, 'smart materials', that naturally form themselves into films one molecule thick, have a wide range of other applications, including catalysts, energy storage devices, batteries for zero-emission vehicles, water treatment, and composite materials.
A technical paper describing the chemistry behind the new process can be found at the company's web site.
