Caltech researchers from campus and JPL have collaborated to devise a method for coating lithium-ion battery cathodes with graphene, extending the life and performance of these widely used rechargeable batteries.
These efforts have led to a promising discovery that may improve lithium-ion battery performance and reduce reliance on cobalt, an element frequently used in lithium-ion batteries that is difficult to source sustainably.
Caltech senior research scientist David Boyd has worked over the past decade to develop techniques for manufacturing graphene, a one-atom thick layer of carbon that is incredibly strong and conducts electricity more readily than materials such as silicon. In 2015, Boyd and colleagues discovered that high-quality graphene could be produced at room temperature. Prior to this, the production of graphene required extremely high temperatures, up to 1,000 degrees Celsius.
After this breakthrough, the hunt was on for new applications for graphene. Recently, Boyd teamed up with Will West, a technologist at JPL, which Caltech manages for NASA. West specializes in electrochemistry and, in particular, in the development of improved battery technologies. Boyd and West set out to see if graphene could create an improved lithium-ion battery. Now they have shown that it can.
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