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Batteries
Introduction
From computers to cell phones to power tools and hearing aids, battery power is a crucial element for enabling today’s mobile world. For instance, the convergence of telecommunications and entertainment in handheld devices has dramatically increased demand for power in ever smaller configurations as users stream media, listen to music, browse the web, and make phone calls, all on the same system. Providing sufficient energy for these devices, in small enough sizes and for a sufficient time period, is a formidable task. With the worldwide primary (disposable) and secondary (rechargeable) battery market approaching $60 billion US, there is tremendous pressure to meet the evolving needs.
Challenge
Ever-increasing power needs for devices that are shrinking in size present significant technological challenges in improving both energy density and power density. A battery’s energy density is the amount of energy it can hold, while power density describes how quickly energy can be drawn from the battery at any given moment. The many functions of today’s devices require batteries with both high energy as well as power density in both disposable and re-chargeable batteries. R&D is ongoing to enhance these characteristics, but the rate of improvement for both primary zinc air and secondary lithium ion battery advancements has slowed. Novel approaches are required to create smaller batteries that can hold larger charges and from which energy can be drawn more quickly to meet varied energy requirements.
Solution
Nano metals present a clear opportunity to provide more energy and power density in zinc-air and lithium ion batteries when used as catalysts. Catalyst materials are the main ingredients facilitating chemical reactions within the battery and play a key role at setting the energy and power densities of these devices. As compared to the micron scale (or larger) metal particles used as catalysts today, nanoscale materials have 2000% greater surface area with just a 10% loading in the battery solution. This translates to commensurately higher reactivity, catalysis, energy density and power density. In a zinc-air battery, for example, this enables power to be drawn in larger pulse spikes for devices such as hearing aids and digital cameras. In the case of a lithium ion battery, more power can be stored without the potential for the overheating and runaway chemical reactions plaguing this technology today.
QSI’s nanomaterials, which utilize proprietary, automated, and scalable processes, are achieving phenomenal results in this area: Recently published data demonstrates that using QSI-Nano® material as the catalyst in the zinc air battery results in a 320% increase in power density. Because of this dramatic success, an industry leader in the primary battery sector has partnered with QSI to develop a next generation product which QSI will support in mass production. In general, incorporating nano metals as catalysts promises the potential to bridge the gap and meet the requirements of upcoming generations of battery driven portable and mobile devices.
