{"id":3587,"date":"2022-02-04T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-04T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=3587"},"modified":"2022-03-07T07:19:43","modified_gmt":"2022-03-07T07:19:43","slug":"new-rubber-electrolyte-may-make-future-ev-batteries-safer-and-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/new-rubber-electrolyte-may-make-future-ev-batteries-safer-and-better\/","title":{"rendered":"New \u201cRubber\u201d Electrolyte May Make Future EV Batteries Safer and Better"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Electric vehicles (EVs) are increasingly becoming more appealing to customers who may want to maintain their ease of travel while cutting back on their reliance on fossil fuels in order to get around. Of course, to store the electricity that makes EVs go, they need batteries\u2014and they need a lot of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This, however, presents a persistent problem for EVs: the batteries themselves present several points of failure for the car. For one, batteries are very heavy and are one of the many reasons why EVs are generally heavy despite their lack of a combustion engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The infrastructure system required to refuel a fleet of electric vehicles is another concern that must be addressed before EVs can become truly widespread. (myenergi, 2021) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Another glaring concern with EVs is the constant need to improve EV battery efficiency. As it stands, there are a lot of alternatives to standard lithium-based batteries, including those made from other materials<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some even choose to improve on parts of the battery themselves, like replacing standard electrolytes with solid-state ones; these, however, also come with their own slew of problems<\/a>. For one, these solid electrolytes are pretty fragile, making them pretty difficult to adapt as-is to an EV that may pass over several bumps on the road on the way to the grocery store\u2014and that\u2019s on top of their relatively expensive raw materials and fabrication processes required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This bare chassis of an electric vehicle show the array of batteries lying underneath the seats of the car. Any rough terrain may pose a risk of causing battery failure, especially when novel solid-state batteries are involved. (Wikimedia Commons, 2009) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Luckily for us, Georgia Tech (GT) scientists are up to the task of solving the peculiar problem surrounding solid-state EV batteries. Their proposed solution, at first glance, looks as innovative as it is counterintuitive, as they designed battery electrolytes that are made of a rubbery material. Their novel research was published in the journal Nature<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost of the industry is focusing on building inorganic solid-state electrolytes. But they are hard to make, expensive, and are not environmentally friendly,\u201d said George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering associate professor Seung Woo Lee, who also served as co-senior author of the paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Georgia Tech scientists revealed a potential new battery electrolyte that was designed to address the flaws associated with traditional solid-state electrolytes. The rubbery material imparts flexibility to the system, while the conductive crystals embedded within it are the parts that do the actual charge-carrying work. (Lee et al\/Georgia Tech, 2022) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Lee and their team instead looked to a rubbery organic polymer electrolyte. Their novel choice of material addresses the fragility issues common with traditional solid electrolytes, according to a Georgia Tech press release<\/a>. Lee continued: \u201cRubber has been used everywhere because of its high mechanical properties, and it will allow us to make cheap, more reliable, and safer batteries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the part that does the actual conductive work is not the rubber matrix, but instead the succinonitrile<\/em> conductive plastic crystals that are embedded within it.  The conductive crystals facilitate lithium-ion transport using an \u201cinterconnected plastic crystal phase\u201d within the elastomer, allowing the rubber material to serve its electrolytic function while at the same time exhibiting the flexibility and stability associated with the elastomer matrix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the research team, the novel choice of material also prevents the formation of dendrites<\/em> on the nearby electrodes, which can reduce the quality of contact between electrolyte and electrode while at the same time allowing the occurrence of unwanted side reactions within the battery if left unchecked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The novel battery tech from Georgia Tech also exhibited an operating voltage of around 4.5 V at room temperature. It also possessed a specific capacity of around 93 mAh\/g that remained stable across 1,000 charge cycles, according to New Atlas<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Georgia Tech scientists believe that there\u2019s much work to be done in terms of improvements. In the words of co-author and graduate researcher Michael Lee: \u201cHigher ionic conductivity means you can move more ions at the same time. By increasing specific energy and energy density of these batteries, you can increase the mileage of the EV.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n