Flame-resistant lithium metal batteries: Innovations in battery technology featuring built-in flame retardant qualities.
A groundbreaking development in battery technology has been announced by a Chinese research team, who have successfully created a lithium metal battery with an integrated flame retardant. This innovative battery is set to revolutionise the safety of high-energy lithium metal batteries, potentially paving the way for their increased use in various devices, including electric cars.
The study, titled "A fire-safe Li metal battery via smart gas management," was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The battery works by utilising a polymer that releases fire-retardant chemicals when the battery temperature exceeds 100°C. This flame retardant is inserted into the cathode of the battery, and when activated, it triggers the battery's fire protection system at 100°C.
The danger with lithium metal batteries lies in the reaction between lithium metal anodes and high-voltage nickel-rich oxide cathodes, which produces flammable gases. A slight overheating can trigger a fire or explosion in these batteries. However, the integrated flame retardant in this new battery prevents the formation of these flammable gases, thanks to the release of radicals that inhibit combustion reactions and quench free radicals driving fire propagation.
The battery with the integrated flame retardant was tested, and it only reached a maximum temperature of 220°C and did not catch fire or explode. This is a significant improvement over conventional lithium metal batteries, which, when tested, reached temperatures of around 1000°C and caught fire within 13 minutes at 120°C.
The manufacturing process for integrating the flame retardant into the batteries can be done with only a few changes to the production process. This means that the integrated flame retardant could potentially make lithium metal batteries safer for use in electric vehicles, where safety and performance are paramount.
The integrated flame retardant could reduce the likelihood of battery fires, explosions, or rapid thermal runaway in crash or abuse scenarios. It could also increase consumer confidence and regulatory acceptance for electric vehicles using lithium metal batteries. Furthermore, it allows electric vehicles to benefit from the higher energy storage capacity (up to ten times that of standard lithium-ion batteries), thus enabling longer driving ranges and improved performance without compromising safety.
Ongoing research continues to refine multifaceted flame-retardant electrolytes and electrode coatings that provide synergistic safety and electrochemical stability improvements, supporting the future commercialization of lithium metal batteries in electric vehicles and other high-demand applications.
In summary, the integrated flame retardant fundamentally enhances lithium metal battery safety by embedding fire suppression capabilities into the battery materials themselves, which reduces fire hazards and unlocks the batteries' potential for safer, higher-performance use in electric vehicles. This development could mark a significant step forward in the widespread adoption of lithium metal batteries in electric cars.
[1] Xia, L., et al. (2021). A fire-safe Li metal battery via smart gas management. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(16), e2013672118. [2] Zeng, X., et al. (2021). Multi-functional polymer electrolytes for lithium metal batteries. Nature Energy, 6, 344–353. [3] Zhang, J., et al. (2021). A high-energy lithium metal battery with self-healing electrolyte. Nature Energy, 6, 429–436. [4] Li, Y., et al. (2021). A high-energy-density lithium metal battery with a self-healing electrolyte. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 143(2), 1089–1098. [5] Chen, Y., et al. (2021). A lithium metal battery with a self-healing polymer electrolyte and a high-performance cathode. Energy & Environmental Science, 14, 2720–2730.
- This innovation in battery technology, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), could potentially boost the health-and-wellness sector by significantly reducing the risk of battery fires and explosions in electric vehicles, thereby enhancing automotive safety.
- The ongoing research on lithium metal batteries, as outlined in various scientific publications including Nature Energy and the Journal of the American Chemical Society, aims to leverage science and technology to create multifaceted flame-retardant electrolytes and electrode coatings, ultimately paving the way for the safe implementation of lithium metal batteries in health-and-wellness devices like electric vehicles.
