Scientists herald a revolution. Smartphone batteries will last three times longer – smartphone, battery

MXene is a two-dimensional crystalline material discovered in 2011. It is composed of metal and carbon. Its structure can be both monolayer and multilayer, and it is characterized by properties described as intermediate between metals and ceramic materials. Initially, the material was studied especially for biocidal, photocatalytic and anti-cancer applications, but there are many other possibilities. – It is a very resistant material and also very conductive. Also, it is suitable for mass production. My colleagues and I considered this material a good substitute for lithium-ion batteries. In their case, the issues related to the extraction of lithium and its safety due to its reactivity are problematic. MXene has many uses, one of which is to potentially replace a battery or use it as a battery component – explains Dr. Amgad Rezk, assistant professor at the Institute of Chemical Engineering at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in an interview with Newseria Innowacje.

However, simply using a new material for battery construction will not solve the problems of their relatively short lifespan.

– MXene can be produced very easily and the same goes for its large-scale production. The problem with this material, as with lithium, is its impermanence. Battery operation is based on repeated charging and discharging. Each time, this process is not one hundred percent reversible. The material does not return to its original state, resulting in the buildup of a layer of rust or oxide, which has always been a problem with batteries – says Dr. Amgad Rezk.

It is this corrosion process that makes batteries usable for two to three years on average. There is no effective method to remove the oxide layer.

– If the bike starts to rust, a rust remover fluid can be used to chemically remove the rust or you can clean it mechanically. On a small scale of miniaturized devices, however, this is not possible because the material is too thin. If we use chemicals to remove the rust, nothing will remain and the mechanical method will not work because the elements are too small. In our laboratory we have been working for more than 15 years on a platform based on surface acoustic waves, i.e. high frequency vibrations measured in megahertz – very fast, but inaudible – says assistant professor at the Institute of Chemical Engineering at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

During testing, it was found that subjecting the oxidized MXene layers to electromechanical vibrations at a frequency of 10 MHz for just one minute results in significant removal of the surface oxide layer, and the material retains its structure and properties. In practice, such technology would allow the battery to be used for up to nine years.

– We have discovered that by using sound waves we can vibrate the contents of the battery to remove the oxide layer (rust), then we can recover the electrical properties of the battery, rejuvenate it to return it to its original state. of origin. This cannot be done indefinitely, but three times the use of electrical parts made of the MXene battery material we studied is possible – informs Dr. Amgad Rezk.

The publication on this topic was published in the journal “Nature Communications”.

This can be a better economic and environmental solution than recycling batteries. According to a researcher from RMIT University, Australia, only 10%. of the batteries of this type of device are recycled, ie the remaining 90%. poses a threat to the environment. Added to this is the high cost of recycling lithium and other battery materials.

– We are still at an early stage of research, we published an article on this subject in the very prestigious journal Nature Communications. We seek to partner with industry and manufacturers in the battery sector or other areas related to nanomaterials, as our solution is an unbranded platform. We do not expect it to become a product overnight, but it may be possible in two or three years if the cooperation with the sector is successful. – says Dr. Amgad Rezk.

The researchers hope that the industry will take an interest, because the properties of the battery today are one of the key criteria for choosing a smartphone – they determine the performance of the device. Moreover, there are more and more requirements in this regard. This year, the European Battery Law is due to come into force, which means that batteries for electrical and electronic devices must come from recycling, be easily replaceable and have a passport in the form of a QR code, after scanning this which will be possible to verify, among other things, the manufacturer and the date of manufacture, the chemical composition of the battery or its estimated life.