Researchers from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory have discovered titanium dioxide as the most beneficial material for applications in energy storage systems like lithium ion batteries.
The research team has been led by three scientists at the Department of Energy lab: Parans Paranthaman, Gilbert Brown and Hansan Liu.
The titanium dioxide material has a rapid charge-discharge capability and it enlarges the surface area. The breakthrough can be a boon for lithium ion batteries as the compound increases safety, energy density and power, as well as reduces charge time significantly. These features make titanium dioxide, an ideal choice compared to conventional technologies.
In addition, the material has higher capacity (256 vs. 165 mA/hr/gm) and a sloping discharge voltage, which is an important feature to control the state of charge. All these attributes make the titanium dioxide suitable for hybrid electric vehicles and various other high-power applications.
With the use of titanium dioxide, a battery can be charged to 50% of full capacity in just six minutes, whereas a traditional lithium ion battery based on graphite would be charged only 10% with the application of the same current.
The team has described the novel design of titanium dioxide that is referred to as mesoporous TiO2-B microspheres. This architecture features pores and channels that allow flow of ions without interruption. Therefore, a lithium ion battery that uses TiO2-B as an alternative to graphite electrode carries out charging and discharging process rapidly.
The study results might also have an impact on applications in stationary energy storage solutions used for smart grids and solar and wind power. The research has revealed that the manufacturing process of the titanium dioxide is complex and hence several studies need to be performed to decide whether usage of the material is scalable.
Source: http://www.ornl.gov/