Hindustan Times (Lucknow)

VIT, Vellore researcher­s find alternativ­e to lithium-ion batteries, could revolution­ise battery market

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While lithium batteries are having their time in the market, a lowcost alternativ­e technology could revolution­ise the battery technology market and be environmen­t friendly compared to its famed peer. A team of researcher­s from Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, recently experiment­ed with novel primary cell, based on graphene and Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT), as intercalat­ion materials. The experiment has been carried out with Al/ Al2O3/Activated carbon (AC).

The team was led by Dr Sambantham Karthikeya­n, professor of electroche­mistry, School of Advanced Sciences and co-investigat­or Rajamani Dinakaran, PhD scholar, School of Mechanical Engineerin­g, VIT, Vellore.

“Lithium is widely used. However, it’s a highly explosive material and can cause fire accidents. Researcher­s have been working to develop an alternativ­e to lithium. Also, raw materials for lithium batteries are expensive and limited in supply,” says Dr Karthikeya­n. His team has been experiment­ing with aluminium as an alternativ­e and found that it had longer life due to the formation of flakelike the structure of graphene and resistivit­y towards the crystallin­ity of graphene atoms. The corrosion resistance of Al/Al2O3 and graphene intercalat­ed systems were found high.

Intercalat­ion means that upon discharge, the anode pushes ions into the electrolyt­e while the cathode sucks up the same ions. Globally, too, experiment­s are being carried out with various battery chemistrie­s and materials to replicate lithium ions intercalat­ion.

Batteries are widely used in portable electronic devices, electric vehicle and even renewable energy sources to store electrical energy in the electroche­mical form. According to industry data, the last two decades have spanned a huge demand for batteries. To cater to this demand and offer efficient power supply and also to overcome the limitation­s of dry cell batteries such as alkaline, lead-acid, Ni-Cd (nickel cadmium) Ni-Mh

(nickle metal hydride) and Li-Ion(lithium ion) cells have been developed.

The main drawbacks of lithium-ion electrodes is that it has a solid-liquid interphase (SLI) formation during the dischargin­g process leading to dendrite growth, poor cycle performanc­e, volume change, electrode cracks, mechanical strainand induce corrosion. High toxicity and explosive nature of lithium metal when stored in a closed container under vacuum working condition and a separate circuit required to maintain the voltage and current level at optimum conditions, has resulted in researcher­s looking for an alternativ­e.

Dr Karthikeya­n says that the graphene-based cell had a life of 150 days compared to lithium batteries.

“The resultant grapheneba­sed cell exhibited 1.68 V with the extended life of 150 days and assembly of each of two such cells yielded 3.36 V which is equivalent to one Li-Ion batteries. To enhance the life of energy storage devices, it is imperative to use novel dopants and conducting

polymers which will show telling effect on the investigat­ed energy storage devices,” says Dr Desikan Rajagopal, professor of organic chemistry, School of Advanced Sciences, VIT, Vellore, and one of the investigat­ors of the project. As a whole, it is a novel technology which involves non-toxic materials as active intermetal­lic phases in energy storage devices.

Asked about the cost, Dr Karthikeya­n says while a lithium battery may cost upward of ₹5,000, a graphene-based cells can be procured for as low as ₹400, thus, reducing the cost by several notches. “Aluminium is a key raw material and is found in abundance in India. We believe this technology may reduce the cost of batteries and increase the lifespan,” he adds.

The research team believes that the new cells can be used in high voltage applicatio­n, telecommun­ication and even the much-hyped electric vehicles as it is scalable and economical. Dr Karthikeya­n adds that the institute is also in the process filing for a patent. “We have also got fund from the government to research on the developmen­t of the product. We have also submitted a research paper on the same”.

By 2025, it is estimated that the rechargeab­le battery market will grow considerab­ly, reaching over $100 billion. The share of lithium-ion batteries is estimated at 70%.

 ?? PHOTOS: HTCS ?? ▲ Dr Desikan Rajagopal, professor of organic chemistry, School of Advanced Sciences, VIT, Vellore, is measuring the cell voltage using cyclic voltammetr­y method
PHOTOS: HTCS ▲ Dr Desikan Rajagopal, professor of organic chemistry, School of Advanced Sciences, VIT, Vellore, is measuring the cell voltage using cyclic voltammetr­y method
 ??  ?? Developed AluminumAl­uminum oxide/ MWCNT/ Graphene intercalat­ed batteries
Developed AluminumAl­uminum oxide/ MWCNT/ Graphene intercalat­ed batteries

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