New li-ion technology promises 10x higher capacity

Published in a recent edition of the Advanced Energy Materials journal, research from US Northwestern University displays findings on a new approach to Lithium-Ion battery technology that can offer 10x the capacity and 10x the charging speed over currently available batteries.

In existing Li-ion batteries, charge is stored at one end of the device, the anode, by packing lithium ions between sheets of graphene, a single-atom-thick sheet of carbon. This approach is not unlike storing water in a dam, with the lithium ions taking on the roll of the water. These sheets are able to accommodate a single lithium ion for every six carbon atoms; Northwestern proposes the use of silicon clusters in-between these graphene sheets, as silicon is capable of storing four lithium ions to each silicon atom, a greater density of energy, or more water in the dam..