University of California, Irvine researchers used gold and some new-fangled materials to create a nanowire battery that maintains power levels even after hundreds of thousands of charging cycles. Normal rechargeable lithium ion batteries lose charge over time, while this new nanowire-based battery material endured a 3-month testing period – charged 200,000 times – and didn’t show any loss in power capacity. Continue reading for a video and more information.
“What’s more, this amazing battery passed the test without any damage to the nanowire. Engineers have long wanted to incorporate nanowire technology into battery systems, but the fragile nature of the wire made it impossible. The UCI team created special, protected electrode nanowires using a thin core of gold, surrounded by layers of manganese dioxide and a Plexiglas-like electrolyte gel. Senior author and UCI chemistry chair Reginald Penner said the innovation is ‘crazy,’ compared to the performance of existing lithium ion batteries,” according to Inhabitat.
