Newswise — As the world seeks next-generation secondary battery solutions to replace current lithium-ion technology, researchers in South Korea have found a new material that dramatically improves both safety and longevity compared to existing materials. We have developed an innovative lithium composite material that is more than three times more durable than conventional lithium.
A research team led by Dr. Do-Yeob Kim from the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) has stabilized lithium growth and effectively overcome the historically problematic uncontrolled growth of lithium metal in batteries. announced a new lithium composite material. Performance and safety.
This highly stable lithium composite material promises to significantly advance the development of lithium metal, lithium sulfur, and lithium air batteries. This new composite material addresses one of the most important challenges in next-generation battery technology by suppressing the growth of dendritic lithium, a common barrier to the development of safe, high-performance batteries.
Currently, graphite has become the main negative electrode material for lithium-ion batteries due to its affordability and safety. However, graphite’s low energy density and limited capacity make lithium metal an ideal replacement for the negative electrode in next-generation lithium batteries.
Unlike traditional lithium-ion batteries, which rely on stable graphite structures to store lithium ions, lithium metal batteries accumulate lithium directly on the metal surface, forming “lithium dendrites.” These dendrites reduce battery efficiency, compromise safety, and in severe cases can cause short circuits and battery explosions.
Dr. Kim’s team introduced a lithium composite material that promotes uniform lithium growth while facilitating ion transport. This composite material was produced using an innovative method that physically mixes lithium with electrolyte materials*, rather than relying on high-temperature processing.
*Al-doped Li7La3Zr2O12 (Al-LLZO): Lithium lanium zirconate solid electrolyte doped with aluminum. A material that is being widely studied as a solid electrolyte for “all-solid-state batteries” among next-generation secondary batteries.
Testing shows that the composite material not only reduces dendrite growth, but also extends battery life by more than three times compared to traditional lithium metal and remains stable over 250 charge/discharge cycles without significant capacity loss. It was confirmed that the performance was demonstrated. Additionally, charging speeds have been increased by more than 20% under certain conditions.
KRICT’s technology is currently being applied to lithium metal batteries and lithium sulfur batteries and has shown promising results in scalability and large pouch cell applications, demonstrating its commercial potential.
Yongguk Lee, President of KRICT, said: “This breakthrough advances fundamental advances in next-generation rechargeable battery technology and establishes KRICT as a global leader in this high-stakes market. ”.
This research is in line with KRICT’s participation in the Global TOP Strategic Research Initiative, which focuses on developing high-performance, large-area battery technologies for next-generation energy solutions.
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KRICT is a non-profit research institute funded by the Korean government. Since its establishment in 1976, KRICT has played a leading role in the advancement of national chemical technology in the fields of chemistry, materials science, environmental science and chemical engineering. KRICT is currently on track to become a world-leading research institution tackling the most difficult challenges in the fields of chemistry and engineering, and continues to develop chemical technologies that benefit the entire world and contribute to maintaining a healthy planet. We will continue to play that role in development. For more information about KRICT, please visit http://www.krict.re.kr/eng.
This research was supported by the Nanomaterials Technology Development Program through the Korea National Research Foundation, funded by the Ministry of Science, Information and Communications and the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT). The research was published in Volume 24, Issue 2 (IF:18.5) of Advanced Functional Materials, a renowned international journal in the field of materials science, and featured on the inside back cover of the issue.
