Dr. Choongho Yu, the Gulf/Oil Thomas A. Dietz Career Development Professor II in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University, and his group in mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering have recently published two papers in the journals Advanced Materials and Nano Energy.
Yu’s paper, “Liquid-Type Cathode Enabled by 3D Sponge-Like Carbon Nanotubes for High Energy Density and Long Cycling Life of Li-S Batteries,” touts the use of a newly designed Li-S battery in electric vehicles, which can provide a five-fold energy density of the most widely used lithium-ion battery. This impressive result provides great promise for the future development of the electric vehicle.
Currently lithium ion cells are used by most car manufacturers because of their relatively high energy density and because they have no memory effect. Lithium cobalt oxide is the most common cathode material used for these cells, but the high price of raw material and the relatively low range per charge are limiting the market of electric vehicles.
The energy density of a battery is a critical factor for electric vehicles because the higher it is, the longer you can drive on a single charge. Currently typical electric vehicles can achieve a range of 100 miles while traveling 65 mph, which is 1/3 the driving distance of typical vehicles powered by internal combustion engines.
Yu and his group have determined that by using their Li-S battery, which has a five-times higher energy density with inexpensive sulfur (price is 1/300 of cobalt in typical current commercial Li-ion batteries), the range per charge of electric vehicles could be greatly improved and the price could be much lower. The group also investigates the methodology of achieving high safety and reliability of the Li-S battery, an important concern for many electric vehicle customers, and their results are summarized in their paper “Safe and reliable operation of sulfur batteries with lithiated silicon”.
Advanced Materials is a leading international journal in materials science, publishing cutting-edge research in a multidisciplinary, ever-expanding field on a weekly schedule.
Nano Energy is a multidisciplinary, rapid-publication forum of original peer-reviewed contributors on the science and engineering of nanomaterials and nanodevices used in all forms of energy harvesting, conversion, storage, utilization and policy.