From UniPisa the secret to faster top-ups

From UniPisa the secret to faster recharging and longer lasting batteries. Just a few more years, electric cars could close a major competitive gap.

Graphite electrode during charging under an optical microscope. In the picture you can see the graphite particles, while the different colors, from gold to red, indicate the different phases of graphite. Red arrows indicate lithium plating, a degradation phenomenon analyzed in the study.

From UniPisa treatment against old batteries

I’m advertising Antonio Berti And Marco is crazyAssociate Professor and Researcher in Chemical Engineering Al Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering. The authors, with colleagues from eight other international entities, of the study published in Nature Communications*. Bertie explains:Fast charging capacity, autonomy and safety Lithium-ion batteries are factors that significantly influence the wider spread of electric vehicles. But thanks to the results obtained from our study, these limits could be overcome within the next few years. The investigations conducted allowed us to definitively determine the quantity Mechanisms that exacerbate aging during rapid charging of the batteries they use Graphite electrodesThe research team demonstrated that the rapid charging process, as it is conceived today, can cause deposition Mineral lithium On the surface of the graphite anode (negative electrode).

Graphite electrode during charging under an optical microscope. In the image, you can see the graphite particles, while the different colors from gold to red to dark grey, indicate the different phases of graphite.

Defining the fast charging protocols of the future

This phenomenon can lead to Irreversible loss of lithium. Reducing power performance and compromising battery safety. But the most important thing is that the researchers confirmed that this phenomenon ‘Lithium plating It is partially reversible. Determine its dynamics precisely From being reabsorbed And how to integrate it into the overall performance of the battery. This result was obtained thanks to the University of Pisa, which developed physical-mathematical models to support and integrate cutting-edge experimental analyses. “The computational model we developed allowed us to do this “Live” monitoring Lithium plating process for graphite. To prove that this could be reabsorbed by the electrode, thus slowing down the aging of the batteries“, he adds I’m not crazy. “Simply enter pauses at certain charge levels. So much so that we, along with our colleagues, formulated the slogan “Wait to be faster.” To describe an approach that will inform the development of advanced fast charging protocols in the future“

*The study was published in the journal Nature Communications: Multiscale dynamics of charge and coating in graphite electrodes coupled with operational microscopy and phase field modeling.