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Environment & Energy

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OKIsItJustMe

(21,734 posts)
Thu May 16, 2013, 02:45 PM May 2013

Add boron for better batteries [View all]

http://news.rice.edu/2013/05/16/add-boron-for-better-batteries-2/
[font face=Serif][font size=5]Add boron for better batteries[/font]
Mike Williams – May 16, 2013

[font size=4]Rice University theorists say graphene-boron mix shows promise for lithium-ion batteries[/font]

[font size=3]Frustration led to revelation when Rice University scientists determined how graphene might be made useful for high-capacity batteries.

Calculations by the Rice lab of theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson found a graphene/boron anode should be able to hold a lot of lithium and perform at a proper voltage for use in lithium-ion batteries. The discovery appears in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.

The possibilities offered by graphene get clearer by the day as labs around the world grow and test the one-atom-thick form of carbon. Because it is as thin as possible, battery manufacturers hope to take advantage of graphene’s massive surface area to store lithium ions. Counting both sides of the material, one gram would cover 2,630 square meters, or nearly half a football field.



“As often happens with graphene, people oversold how wonderful it would be to absorb lithium,” said Yakobson, whose group analyzes relationships between atoms based on their intrinsic energy. “But in experiments, they couldn’t see it, and they were frustrated.”

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jz400491b
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Add boron for better batteries [View all] OKIsItJustMe May 2013 OP
Message auto-removed Name removed May 2013 #1
The march towards a practical ev continues madokie May 2013 #2
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