Researchers Design Self-Assembling Batteries

MIT researchers have created a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that builds itself out of microscopic materials. The MIT team

selected electrode and electrolyte materials that, when combined, organize themselves into the structure of a working battery. The researchers had been looking for ways to exploit short-range forces between micro- and nanoscale particles. After measuring such forces between materials using ultraprecise atomic-force microscope probes, they were able to select materials with just the right combination of attractive and repulsive forces. As a result, similar materials clustered together to form opposite electrodes, while a gap necessary for the battery to function was maintained between the electrodes.

The researchers were able to discharge and recharge the battery multiple times.

Self-assembly could reduce manufacturing costs and allow molecular-level control of batteries' structure, leading to new materials and devices — such as ultrasmall power sources for sensors and pinhead-sized micromachines. But unless you have a flea-sized vehicle, don't expect a self-assembled car battery anytime soon. Electrode materials today are compressed with great force to maximize energy storage; that's impossible for self-assembled batteries, and that fact could make them uncompetitive in terms of capacity and possibly cost. That's OK, says Jeff Dahn, a professor of chemistry and physics: "Just the fact that you can do it is pretty cool."

[Source: MIT Technology Review]