UK researchers discover oxygen's key role in battery energy storage

UK researchers discover oxygen's key role in battery energy storage

Scientists from the University of Warwick and University of Dundee have identified the active role oxygen plays in the storage and release of energy within batteries. The discovery challenges previous scientific assumptions and could lead to batteries for vehicles and electronics that are safer, last longer, and charge faster.

For years, the prevailing understanding was that the charging process primarily involved metal elements inside the battery, such as iron, cobalt, or nickel. During this process, oxygen was considered passive.

The research team overturned this view using laboratory experiments and advanced computer modelling. Their work demonstrates that oxygen is actually an active participant in both the charging and discharging processes. According to the researchers, this provides a new understanding of how batteries function at a fundamental level.

"Global populations have become increasingly reliant on renewable energy technologies and advanced energy storage systems from everything from the mobile phones in our pockets to the cars we drive,"

Dr Hrishit Banerjee, a theoretical physicist at Dundee’s faculty of science, engineering and business, via Yahoo

The study specifically examined two of the primary cathodes used in modern lithium-ion batteries: layered oxides and phosphates. These cathode types are common in portable electronics like laptops and mobile phones, as well as electric vehicles.

The researchers found a stark difference between the two materials. While phosphates exhibited little participation from oxygen, the layered oxides showed significant electron extraction from oxygen.

This atomic-level insight addresses a major hurdle in battery development. Dr Banerjee noted that current technologies are limited because the underlying physics of why and how batteries fail over time are not fully understood. He stated that the current research is crucial because it provides a general framework that will help in the design of batteries with much longer lifetimes.

The team believes that applying this knowledge of atomic-level interactions will allow for big leaps in real-world performance. And as society becomes more dependent on advanced energy storage and renewable technology, understanding the electronic processes within these materials becomes more important.

The full results of the study have been published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.