Analysis of lithium-ion batteries that won’t catch fire

What is a lithium-ion battery? What are its caveats? A team of researchers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory has designed a bendable lithium-ion battery that can operate in extreme conditions, including cutting, submersion, and Simulating a ballistic impact, it now works again without being flammable.

Current lithium-ion batteries are prone to catastrophic fire and explosion incidents—most of which arrive without any discernible warning—because they are made from flammable and combustible materials. Samsung Galaxy Note7 phones were banned from airlines due to this danger, while the Navy's ban on e-cigarettes on board nuclear submarines was a direct response to reducing the flammability of such devices.

These safety advancements mark a major shift in how lithium-ion batteries are made and used in electronic devices, as these batteries become the energy storage tool of choice for portable electronics, electric vehicles and grid storage. The flexible design uses safer polymers instead of flammable toxins, eliminating the possibility of combustion.

In research recently published in the journal Chemical Communications, a research team led by Konstantinos Gerasopoulos of APL Research and Exploration Development details their latest discovery: a new "water in salt" and "water in water" electrolyte , known as WiS and WiBS respectively - reduce water activity when in a polymer matrix, improving the battery's energy capabilities and life cycle while eliminating the flammability, toxicity and high reactivity present in current lithium-ion batteries Solvent. Researchers say this is a safe and effective alternative.

"From cell phones to cars, lithium-ion batteries are already present in our daily lives, and continuing to improve their safety is critical to further advancing energy storage technology," said Gerasopoulos, senior research scientist and principal investigator at APL. "The form factors of lithium-ion batteries haven't changed much since they were commercialized in the early 1990s; we still use the same cylindrical or prismatic cell types. Liquid electrolytes and sealed packaging have a lot to do with that.

"Our team's efforts have focused on replacing flammable liquids with a polymer that improves safety and form factor. We are excited about today's results. Our recent paper shows that a water-based flexible polymer that can be constructed and operated in the open air "The usability and performance of biolithium-ion batteries have been improved." In addition, the damage tolerance of the flexible battery that the team first demonstrated in 2017 has been further improved in the new method of making lithium-ion batteries.

"The first generation of flexible batteries were not as dimensionally stable as what we are producing today," Gerasopoulos said.

As this latest standard is achieved, researchers continue to work on the further development of this technology.

“Our team is continually improving the safety and performance of flexible lithium-ion batteries,” said Jeff Maranchi, APL materials science program area manager. "We have made further discoveries based on recently reported work, and we are very excited about it. We hope to translate this new research into a prototype design within a year." The above is the relevant analysis of lithium-ion batteries. Hope it helps everyone.