Researchers used a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, or Berkeley Lab, X-ray device to gain insight into the process by which lithium-ion batteries, such as those found in electric vehicles, lose battery life over time.
These findings point toward a key to designing electric vehicles that charge much faster and maintain battery health. The study, a collaboration between Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Toyota Research Institute, used imaging technology at Stanford University and UC Berkeley, as well as novel machine learning techniques to understand how fast-charging battery particles interact with lithium ions.
“The findings establish new design rules to make longer lasting batteries that could be recharged quickly,” said Will Chueh, study author and Stanford University materials science and engineering associate professor, in an email.
Study on X-ray instrument recasts battery material s role from cathode to catalyst aninews.in - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from aninews.in Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
UC Berkeley professor emeritus of chemistry and former director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, or Berkeley Lab, David Shirley died March 29 at the age of 87 due to age-related illnesses.
Remembered by friends and colleagues as being someone with great scientific passion, ceaseless generosity and immense devotion to his students, Shirley made great contributions to his field throughout his time on campus. Among other achievements, Shirley helped pioneer research on electron spectroscopy and initiated the creation of Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source, according to a campus press release.
“He had a generosity of spirit and was always looking out for his community,” said UC Berkeley Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Paul Alivisatos, a former colleague of Shirley. “That was the type of man he was.”
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IMAGE: Illustration of caged lithium ions in a new polymer membrane for lithium batteries. Scientists at Berkeley Lab s Molecular Foundry used a drug-discovery toolbox to design the selective membranes. The technology. view more
Credit: Artem Baskin/Berkeley Lab
Membranes that allow certain molecules to quickly pass through while blocking others are key enablers for energy technologies from batteries and fuel cells to resource refinement and water purification. For example, membranes in a battery separating the two terminals help to prevent short circuits, while also allowing the transport of charged particles, or ions, needed to maintain the flow of electricity.
X-Ray Experiments, Machine Learning Could Trim Years Off Battery R&D
An X-ray instrument at Berkeley Lab contributed to a battery study that used an innovative approach to machine learning to speed up the learning curve about a process that shortens the life of fast-charging lithium batteries.
Researchers used Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source, a synchrotron that produces light ranging from the infrared to X-rays for dozens of simultaneous experiments, to perform a chemical imaging technique known as scanning transmission X-ray microscopy, or STXM, at a state-of-the-art ALS beamline dubbed COSMIC.
Researchers also employed “in situ” X-ray diffraction at another synchrotron – SLAC’s Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource – which attempted to recreate the conditions present in a battery, and additionally provided a many-particle battery model. All three forms of data were combined in a format to help the machine-learning algorithms learn the physics at work in