It's hard to imagine life without batteries nowadays especially, since we usually carry at least one or two electronic devices with us all the time. The demand for long-lasting battery life is increasing at a very rapid rate by the minute but which hasn't been fulfilled completely yet.
One of the most obvious reasons is the limitation of Li-Ion batteries i.e., vendors are only able to increase their capacity slightly, they can't become more thin than they are already now and last, but not the least, they are not getting any smaller as well. On the other hand, smartphones and phablets are increasing in size and specifications at a phenomenal rate which is quite difficult for the batteries improvement rate to catch up.
Now thanks to the scientists at Stanford University, who have come to the rescue and made a major leap in aluminum batteries. These new ones are safer, thinner, flexible, charge much faster and have about 8 times better life-cycle than Lithium batteries. Not only that, they are also very inexpensive to build and hence can be considered as the perfect backup solution yet.
The team of scientists were able to achieve this solution by using two materials for the battery: graphite for its cathode and aluminum for its anode. Unlike the Li-Ion battery, the Al-Ion one does not explode or catches fire even if a hole is drilled into it. Moreover, they were able to charge it in a minute!
The only downside of this first prototype is its maximum output voltage which is 2V whereas, the lithium counterpart has twice more output i.e. 4V approximately. This gap, however, can be minimized as the materials, in use, are eventually improved to be able to output more voltage.
Let's now see how rapidly aluminum batteries take over the reign of lithium competitor in future.
One of the most obvious reasons is the limitation of Li-Ion batteries i.e., vendors are only able to increase their capacity slightly, they can't become more thin than they are already now and last, but not the least, they are not getting any smaller as well. On the other hand, smartphones and phablets are increasing in size and specifications at a phenomenal rate which is quite difficult for the batteries improvement rate to catch up.
Now thanks to the scientists at Stanford University, who have come to the rescue and made a major leap in aluminum batteries. These new ones are safer, thinner, flexible, charge much faster and have about 8 times better life-cycle than Lithium batteries. Not only that, they are also very inexpensive to build and hence can be considered as the perfect backup solution yet.
The team of scientists were able to achieve this solution by using two materials for the battery: graphite for its cathode and aluminum for its anode. Unlike the Li-Ion battery, the Al-Ion one does not explode or catches fire even if a hole is drilled into it. Moreover, they were able to charge it in a minute!
The only downside of this first prototype is its maximum output voltage which is 2V whereas, the lithium counterpart has twice more output i.e. 4V approximately. This gap, however, can be minimized as the materials, in use, are eventually improved to be able to output more voltage.
Let's now see how rapidly aluminum batteries take over the reign of lithium competitor in future.
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