Indo-Japanese Research Offers A Solution For Ultra Fast Charging of Lithium Batteries

A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) and the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) has developed a new anode materials that enables lithium batteries to be recharged within minutes. This will help to charge your battery-based gadgets or even electric vehicles at an ultra-fast speed (Ultra fast charging). Using nanosheets made from titanium diboride (TiB2), a substance that resembles a multi-stacked sandwich with metal atoms present in between layers of boron, the team claims to have created a new two-dimensional (2D) anode material.

This technique is particularly valuable since TiB2 nanosheet production is an intrinsically scalable process. All that is needed is to combine the TiB2 particles with an aqueous solution of diluted hydrogen peroxide and let it crystallise again. Scalability is the constraint that prevents any nanomaterial from being translated into a practical technology.

According to Kabeer Jasuja, Dr. Dinesh O. Shah chair associate professor of chemical engineering at the IITGN, “Our method to synthesise these TiB2 nanosheets just involves stirring and no specialised equipment, making it easily adaptable. The goal of the research teams at the IITGN and JAIST was to create an anode material that not only allows for quick battery charging but also promotes a long battery life.”
“The most popular anode materials currently utilised in commercially accessible lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) that power computers, cell phones, and electric vehicles include graphite and lithium titanate. One charge cycle of a LIB with a very energy-dense anode like graphite can propel an electric car hundreds of kilometres. Alternatives that are safer, more popular, and allow for fast charging are lithium titanate anodes. However, because of their reduced energy density, these would require more frequent charging, “added Kabeer Jasuja.

According to Noriyoshi Matsumi, professor of materials chemistry at the JAIST, “we expect continuing research will contribute to the ease of EV users, less air pollution on the roads, especially in cities, and a less stressful, mobile life, which will enhance the productivity of the society.”