A major breakthrough! Scientists develop copper-tin thin films to greatly improve the performance of lithium batteries.

SMM: it is reported that scientists at the University of Central Florida in the United States who have studied the design of alternative lithium batteries have proposed an improved scheme, which they say can greatly improve the performance of the equipment.

The breakthrough is mainly due to the application of a new protective coating on one of the electrodes of the battery, the copper-tin film, which can significantly slow the degradation of the battery and enable the battery to maintain more power for a longer period of time.

It is understood that in the lithium-ion battery charging process, the lithium ion produced by the positive electrode will move to the negative electrode, if Discharge, the process is vice versa. Normally, negative electrode assemblies are made of graphite, but there are also some potential alternatives, including metal tin with high capacity and high conductivity.

However, when the battery is charged, it will lead to a change in the volume of tin, causing it to "degrade" rapidly. Professor Yang Yang of the University of Central Florida, (Yang Yang), has been exploring ways to improve battery performance, including solving the problem of mechanical degradation of tin anodes in lithium-ion batteries, and now he thinks he may have found a solution.

As part of his field of research, Yang and his team explored different variants of alloy materials, each of which is "unique in composition, structure and properties". This led them to invent a film made of tin and copper that could be used on tin anodes. This will keep the electrode stable throughout the charging process.

"our research work has shown that the anodic degradation rate of this film is more than 1000% lower than that of commonly used tin films." Yang said.

The researchers also say that in addition to being suitable for compact environments such as smartphones, the battery design can also be used in larger applications, such as electric cars or electric trucks. If the battery design works in this case, it will allow the phone to last longer after each charge, or allow the electric car to drive farther without charging.