The phone battery should be replaced often after two or three years. Australia’s RMIT University announces that its researchers are developing a technology that can even triple the lifespan of batteries.
In Australia, only 10 percent of mobile device batteries are recycled, which is a poor performance in international comparison. The remaining 90 percent ends up in landfills or is disposed of improperly, which can cause significant damage to the environment. The industry’s problem is the high recycling costs of lithium and other battery materials.
The university’s research team is working on a two-dimensional nanomaterial called MXene, which may compete with the popular lithium in the future. Professor of Chemical Engineering Leslie Yeo says the material is similar to graphene but has higher electrical conductivity.
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One key problem with MXene is that it rusts easily, causing the electrical conductivity to decrease. The researchers solved the problem when they noticed that sound waves at a certain frequency remove rust from the material. The technology could be used to service batteries every few years, which would triple the service life.
Rust forms on the surface of the nanomaterial in a moist environment.
“It is difficult to remove surface oxide, i.e. rust, from a material that is much thinner than a human hair”, the first author of the study Hossein Aliani says.
“Current methods used to reduce oxidation are based on chemical coating of the material, which limits the use of MXene in its original form.”
The researchers showed that high-frequency vibration removes rust from the nanomaterial in just a minute. The procedure restores the electrochemical performance to almost the starting level.
Hossein Aliani. According to the researchers, the technology can enable the use of nanomaterials in a wide range of applications.Picture: RMIT
According to the researchers, the technology can enable the use of nanomaterials in a wide range of applications, such as energy storage and sensor technology. Next, the group wants to work with industry players so that the acoustic device can be integrated into the processes in use.
“We want to work with industrial partners to scale up our rust removal method,” says Yeo.
At the same time, the group is investigating whether the invention can also be used with other materials.
The research has been published in Nature Communications.