The Upcoming revolution of Graphene batteries

 Upcoming revolution: Graphene Batteries

 

In smartphones and other electronics, we use lithium ion battery. This stores and gives energy in the form of lithium- ion. But this has a lot of downsides because it has less lifespan and the atomic structure of it is very unstable. So graphene batteries give an entry, in a ten year lifespan smartphones are expected to have graphene in their batteries. To learn more about it you have to learn about how batteries work.

 

The working of a battery

A battery consists of several components, it contains Anode and cathode. It has liquid electrolyte in which the electrons move. The anode has a lot of free electrons while the cathode has less, so naturally the electrons move from the anode to the cathode in a specific way in which it powers all the components inside the device. Once all the electrons reaches the cathode your battery percentage goes to 0.

 

Graphene

Graphene is a one atom thick carbon structure that resembles a net or a honey comb. This thing is 40 times stronger than steel and 1000 times conductive than copper. This is an atomic super hero. It is more stabler than lithium Ion and less likely to inflame, thanks to its excellent heat resistance. This leads to prolonged lifespan even with extreme usage.

 

What is the role of graphene in batteries

The best use case of the graphene as  a battery is as a super capacitors. Super capacitors serve the same  purpose as a regular battery does but it can charge really quick. So fast charging can get a boost in their job.

 

History and Development

This material was being researches since 1940 but the seriousness started when the 2 university of Manchester scientists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov created graphene and found it to be stable. Since then, they and the other scientists have continued to learn and research the potential use of graphene.

 

This technology of using graphene super capacitors is already conceptualized in the “Lamborghini terzo millienno” and other companies are also testing and trying to develop it. Samsung has a breakthrough in this topic and this is called the graphene ball technology and soon in the near future Samsung is going to use this technology in their flagship smartphone. So we can safely say that graphene tech is coming in the near future.

 

Graphene vs lithium ion: how is graphene better

WE have saw that graphene as a battery beat out lithium ion technology is various ways but how does it beat?

 

i. Graphene offers a better electrical conductivity which means that faster charging cells which translates to faster charging speeds.

ii. It also gives a better heat conductivity which means battery will run smooth and cooler and as a result it gives prolonged lifespan of the battery.

iii. For devices like smartphones it will also be lighter and l=slimmer than lithium-ion which means slimmer phones with same battery capacity or more battery in the same form factor.

iv. If a lithium ion battery can have 180 wh of energy per kg, Graphene can gave 1000wh of energy per kg  which is a whopping 456% more energy.

v. We have seen Li-ion batteries explode and get ignited if it is over heated , over charged or punctured as these activities disturb the chemical content in the battery. But with graphene batteries it is no issue as  it is more flexible, stable and has better heat resistance.

 

Hybrids

So to develop this whole graphene battery technology, we have to develop it step by step, it cant happen in one day. so the first step in this direction is in the form of graphene-metal oxide hybrid. This leads way to lower weight, faster charging, more storage capacity and longer life span. This is believed to be the first wave in the transition to Graphene batteries.

 

Other potential uses

Aside from batteries, graphene has other revolutionary uses. For example. Graphene can repair hole in itself spontaneously this can be used in possibly anything from engineering, medical and many more.

The dream of having unlimited supply of drinking water is becoming a reality, thanks to the amazing filtration properties of nano porous graphene. Researchers have found that graphene is impermeable to everything but water. This led the scientists of the MIT to simulations to verify the desalination abilities of Graphene. This can change the ocean into a giant drinking water fountain.

 

Hope you have learnt something new today from this article. Pls leave your honest opinion on it. Thanks for reading have a great day.