Graphene batteries: Introduction and Market News - Page 54

Aixtron announced that the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Pisa, Italy, has ordered two BM Pro systems in a 4-inch wafer configuration. IIT Pisa researchers will use these systems for the development and production of graphene for the implementation of novel hydrogen storage systems. BM Pro is the new product name for Aixtron's Black Magic system.

TIT Pisa will use one system to deposit graphene using both chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The second BM Pro system is configured for high temperature (1800°C) processing with graphene to be formed using sublimation. Both systems have already been installed and commissioned.

Researchers from the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science developed a new anode for lithium-ion batteries - which makes them hold a charge up to 10 times greater than current design - and also charge 10 times faster. They say that this new technology could be commercialized within 3-5 years.

The new electrode is made from sandwiched layers of silicon and graphene sheets. This allows for a greater number of lithium atoms in the electrode while utilizing the flexibility of the graphene sheets to accommodate the volume changes of silicon during use. The new design also uses a chemical oxidation process to create small holes (10 to 20 nanometers) in the graphene sheets -- termed "in-plane defects" -- so the lithium ions would have a "shortcut" into the anode and be stored there by reaction with silicon. This reduced the time it takes the battery to recharge by up to 10 times.

Nanotek Instruments and its subsidiary Angstron Materials developed a new graphene-based energy storage device - something between a battery and a supercapacitor. The new device is called graphene surface-enabled lithium ion-exchanging cells, or surface-mediated cells (SMCs).

Nanotek says that even the first generation devices (which aren't optimized yet) feature fast recharge cycles - and already outperform both supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries. Recharge time is 10 times faster than supercapcitor and 100 times faster than lithium ion while energy capacity is the same as Li-ion batteries and 30 times higher than conventional supercapacitors.

Researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have created a graphene and tin composite material that can be used to make battery electrodes. Tin turns into nanopillars when heated at 300 degrees - and these nanopillars 'widen the gap' between graphene layers. This leads to better performing electrodes (faster charging).

This is still an early stage technology - current prototypes only last for about 30 charge cycles.

Researchers from Stanford developed a new cathode material for rechargeable lithium-sulfur batteries - by wrapping sulfur particles in graphene sheets. This new cathode enables batteries with a significantly higher energy density than is currently possible. Such batteries can be used to power electric cars.

Current electric-car batteries 'weak spot' is the cathode materials that have low capacity (about 150 mAh/g for layer oxides and 170 mAh/g for LiFe-PO4). A sulfur cathode has a theoretical specific capacity of 1672 mAh/g - but sulfur is a poor conductor, it expands during discharge, and the polysulfides dissolve in electrolyte. Using graphene to wrap the sulfur may overcome many of these issues.

Researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) say that Graphene can be used to create bendable batteries. The researchers developed a graphene-based hybrid electrode and produced a flexible lithium rechargeable battery. The cathode material (V₂O₅) was grown on a graphene sheet using pulsed laser reposition and the anode was lithium-coated graphene.

This battery actually has promising performance compared to non-flexible batteries - higher energy density, power density and better cycle life. The team now works on extending the performance using solid-state or polymer electrolyte. They also believe that this technology can be used not just in batteries but also in solar cells, OLED displays and catalysis.

Researchers from the US DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Princeton University found a way to combine Graphene and indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticles to create cheaper and more durable fuel cells.

Fuel cells work by chemically breaking down oxygen and hydrogen gases to create an electrical current, producing water and heat in the process. The centerpiece of the fuel cell is the chemical catalyst — usually a metal such as platinum — sitting on a support that is often made of black carbon. A good supporting material spreads the platinum evenly over its surface to maximize the surface area with which it can attack gas molecules and is also electrically conductive.

Vorbeck Materials and Targray Technology is introducing Vor-Charge, a Graphene-based Composite Anode Material for Li-ion battery cells. The companies say that Vor-Charge can significantly increase batteries cycle life and enable faster recharge rates. Targray will be the the exclusive global distributor for Vor-Charge.

There are actually two different materials. The Vor-charge Anode-HC offers high current, short recharge, extended life, improved safety and good temperature range. The Vor-charge Anode-HE, on the other hand, offers high energy storage capacity, short recharge times and good cycle life.

Researchers from General Motors Global Research & Development Center and HRL Labs (owned by Boeing and GM) says that they were able to enhance the high rate capability of Li-ion anode materials through the use of vertically aligned graphene nanosheets on the current collector.

Vorbeck MaterialsVorbeck Materials Corp will collaborate with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in a R&D agreement (CRADA) to develop Li-ion battery electrodes using Vorbeck's unique graphene material, Vor-x(TM). These new battery materials could enable electronic devices and power tools that recharge in minutes rather than hours or function as part of a hybrid battery system to extend the range of electric vehicles.

PNNL has demonstrated that small quantities of high-quality graphene can dramatically improve the power and cycling stability of Li-ion batteries, while maintaining high-energy storage capacities. This advance can lead to batteries that both store large amounts of energy and recharge quickly.