Batteries get a quick charge with new anode technology

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.anl.gov/Media_Center/News/2011/news111102.html

Batteries get a quick charge with new anode technology

November 2, 2011.

A breakthrough in components for next-generation batteries could come from special materials that transform their structure to perform better over time.

A team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, led by Argonne nanoscientist Tijana Rajh and battery expert Christopher Johnson, discovered that nanotubes composed of titanium dioxide can switch their phase as a battery is cycled, gradually boosting their operational capacity. Laboratory tests showed that new batteries produced with this material could be recharged up to half of their original capacity in less than 30 seconds.

By switching out conventional graphite anodes for ones composed of the titanium nanotubes, Rajh and her colleagues witnessed a surprising phenomenon. As the battery cycled through several charges and discharges, its internal structure began to orient itself in a way that dramatically improved the battery's performance.

"We did not expect this to happen when we first started working with the material, but the anode spontaneously adopted the best structure," Rajh said. "There's an internal kind of plasticity to the system that allows it to change as the battery gets cycled."

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[liberal N proud]

1. Not intirely new to battery technology

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. I guess I don’t get the joke

It’s a joke. Right?

[Pab Sungenis]

3. Not really.

Titanium anode based batteries have been around for a while, but only in conventional "single use" batteries. Now they're finding that they work even better in rechargeables.

[OKIsItJustMe]

4. "nanotubes composed of titanium dioxide"

Have they been using titanium nanotubes?

[txlibdem]

5. Titanium dioxide is the stuff that makes white paint white, and it's in sunscreen

So it's not the same as saying titanium nanotubes. But I admit that I have not been keeping up with the commercial nanotechnology advancements as I should be.

Also if you paint your house exterior with titanium dioxide it will remove pollutants from the air... they land on the surface and... (zap!) they're gone.