The team created silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanotube anodes for lithium-ion batteries and found they had more than three times as much energy storage capacity as the carbon-based anodes currently being used. The discovery has implications for industries including electronics and electric vehicles, which are always trying to squeeze longer discharges out of batteries.

“We are taking the same material used in kids’ toys and medical devices and even fast food and using it to create next generation battery materials,” said Zachary Favors, the lead author of a just-published paper on the research.

The paper, which was entitled 'Stable Cycling of SiO2 Nanotubes as High-Performance Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries' was published online in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, was co-authored by Cengiz S. Ozkan, a mechanical engineering professor, Mihrimah Ozkan, an electrical engineering professor, and several of their current and former graduate students: Wei Wang, Hamed Hosseinni Bay, Aaron George and Favors.

The team focused on silicon dioxide because it is an abundant compound, environmentally friendly, non-toxic, and found in many other products.

Silicon dioxide has previously been used as an anode material in lithium ion batteries, but the ability to synthesize the material into uniform exotic nanostructures with high energy density and long cycle life has been limited.

The key finding was that the silicon dioxide nanotubes are stable in batteries which leads to longer lifespans. SiO2 nanotube anodes were cycled 100 times without any loss in energy storage capability and the authors are confident that they could be cycled hundreds more times.

The researchers are focusing on methods to scale up production of the SiO2 nanotubes with a view to creating a commercially viable product.

The research is supported by Temiz Energy Technologies.



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