For very long Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries were the only choicefor buyersof cell phones, notebooksand other electronicdevices. EveryLithium-ion battery consists of two sides: the anode crafted from carbon, and the cathode crafted frommetal-oxide. Charging the battery, will causelithium-ions to become positive and streamfrom the cathode to the anode, whilstan electronic circuit employselectrons to balance the charge. Discharging the battery reverses the whole process. These batteries have remained unchanged formany years.
The capacity of the battery is determined by the totalof lithium-ions that can be keptin the anode. Since anodes are presentlyproducedfrom carbon, the greatestcapacity has been reached. Moderntechniquesare being studied, and the most promising appearsto be nanowire batteries. This research, led by Yi Cui, assistant professor, has shownthat silicon has the capabilityto absorbtentimes more energy than carbon. Unfortunately, silicon has the inconvenienceof swellingdramatically when charged with energy. This translates intoa continualswelling and shrinking whilstbeing used. In the end, this process causesthe silicon to fracture.
A solution has been found by Yi Cui and his team. Making use of nanotechnology solves the dilemma. Manufacturingvery thin silicon wires called nanowires, seemsto be the resolution. For some mysteriousreason, the nanowires can still expand and shrink, but they do not cracklike the silicon layers. Sadly, manufacturingthese ultrafine silicon wires are still exceptionallycostly. One of these wires is a thousandtimes thinner than a human hair. Fortunately, as with all new technology, costs will dropwith time.
The anticipatedsizeof 10times that of standardLithium-Ion batteries have not been reached thus far. So far, researchers were able to increasesizefourtimes. This is already exceptionalprogress, and it shows a a lot of promisefor nanowire batteries. There is nevertheless, still one kink in the cable. The silicon wires offer a great enhancementon the anode side of the battery. The cathode side still needs to be enhancedbefore the full capabilityof silicon batteries can be achieved.
Those who will benefitthe most are any user of an digitaldevice that nowmakes use ofLi-ion batteries; like iPods, mobile computers, mobile phones, video cameras, digital cameras. The possibilitiesdo not endwith electronicdevices. Especially research in battery powered vechicleswill find great support in nanowire technology. Patents have already been filed so we shouldsee improvementsin battery capacityreally soon, maybe as soon as 2012. Whilethere is still a long way to go and a lot of researchto be done, just thinking about the likelihoodof running a notebookfrom a battery for twodays makes me giddy.
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