Lauren Leffer at ScienceNews wrote about an interesting concept that rechargeable batteries don’t actually last forever like most assume. She revealed through this article that as time goes on, these batteries become useless and just a waste of matter. This is due to leaking hydrogen. Gang Wan, a materials physicist and chemist from Stanford University explains that unwanted hydrogen fills into the positive end of the battery which then results in less room for charged lithium atoms which are key to maintaining charge and reactivity in the battery. The hydrogen comes from the battery’s electrolyte, which instead of hydrogen is supposed to transport the lithium ions but obviously fails. This then causes a ripple effect and ultimately decreases the lifespan of the battery. So even when not in use, it’s still losing energy.
Leffer provides basic information about the anatomy of a lithium-ion battery, showing through visuals how ions move between the anode and cathode ends of the battery to create a reaction that builds a charge. When hydrogen protons leak in the electrons break off and leak into the outer layers of the cathode causing all kinds of problems.
In order to conduct research on this, Wan switched the hydrogen in the electrolyte for deuterium. Deuterium is basically a variant of hydrogen. They tracked its movement with X-ray imaging and mass spectrometry. This is how they found that hydrogen is the main culprit for the cathode losing charge. The results from this research are helpful because it’s able to help come up with ways to alter the chemistry of batteries to reduce the amount of hydrogen reactions or even avoid them completely. More research is always needed but this is a solid first step.
Lastly, the article mentioned that another root of this issue is the desire to stuff an abundant amount of energy into smaller cells (high-voltage batteries) because it appeals to people more. Who wouldn’t want a battery with more energy, it sounds a lot more effective. Well, it’s been determined that higher voltage cathodes are not only more reactive but also tend to pull in hydrogen. So, finding another solution to this desire or just cutting out high voltage batteries altogether can help provide better quality batteries. Additionally, it would reduce the need to mine cobalt and lithium minerals. So overall, less work and better batteries in the end.
Leffer, Lauren. “Scientists may have an explanation for why some batteries don't last.” Science News, posted September 27, 2024. Accessed 15 March 2025.
Posted by Stephanie Park via e-mail to Grandpa Doug
This piece touches on an interesting and important problem. Your title is a little mysterious which might attract attention or not. Your lede, however, gets right to the point. After setting up the problem you give us quite a clear explanation of the problem. The graphic is attractive and quite clear and helpful. As far as the view of chemistry the implication of the article is that if there is a problem with chemistry the solution is more and more careful chemistry. This is, of course, a positive and long-term sustainable view of chemistry. Science News is a reliable source and more widely read than technical journals, but not as widely read and culturally significant as more general interest journals. Overall an interesting piece of commentary.
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