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Breakthrough could lead to 'big leaps' in battery performance
Yahoo • • science
Key Points:
- Scientists at Dundee and Warwick universities have discovered that oxygen plays a key, active role in storing and releasing energy in lithium-ion batteries, challenging the previous belief that oxygen was passive during charging.
- Advanced computer modeling and laboratory experiments revealed significant electron extraction from oxygen in layered oxide cathodes, unlike phosphate cathodes which showed little oxygen participation.
- This breakthrough could lead to the development of batteries that charge faster, last longer, and are safer for use in electronics and electric vehicles.
- Understanding oxygen's role at the atomic level provides new insights into battery function and failure, potentially enabling the design of batteries with much longer lifespans.
- The research findings have been published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
