Silly Putty material inspires better batteries

Engineers use silicon dioxide to make lithium-ion batteries that last three times longer between charges compared to current standard

2014-05-15

(Press-News.org) RIVERSIDE, Calif. (http://www.ucr.edu) — Using a material found in Silly Putty and surgical tubing, a group of researchers at the University of California, Riverside Bourns College of Engineering have developed a new way to make lithium-ion batteries that will last three times longer between charges compared to the current industry standard.

The team created silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanotube anodes for lithium-ion batteries and found they had over three times as much energy storage capacity as the carbon-based anodes currently being used. This has significant 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, "Stable Cycling of SiO2 Nanotubes as High-Performance Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries," was published online in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

It 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 originally focused on silicon dioxide because it is an extremely 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 highly uniform exotic nanostructures with high energy density and long cycle life has been limited.

There key finding was that the silicon dioxide nanotubes are extremely stable in batteries, which is important because it means a longer lifespan. Specifically, SiO2 nanotube anodes were cycled 100 times without any loss in energy storage capability and the authors are highly confident that they could be cycled hundreds more times.

The researchers are now focused on developed methods to scale up production of the SiO2 nanotubes in hopes they could become a commercially viable product.

INFORMATION:

The research is supported by Temiz Energy Technologies.

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

Silly Putty material inspires better batteries 2

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Going beyond the surface

2014-05-15

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective treatment for easily accessible tumors such as oral and skin cancer. But the procedure, which uses lasers to activate special drugs called photosensitizing agents, isn't adept at fighting cancer deep inside the body. Thankfully, that's changing due to new technology that could bring PDT into areas of the body which were previously inaccessible. Described May 11 in the journal Nature Photonics, the approach involves using near-infrared beams of light that, upon penetrating deep into the body, are converted into ...

How octopuses don't tie themselves in knots

2014-05-15

VIDEO: An octopus is treating its own freshly amputated arm in a strange and exploratory manner that is not commonly seen with respect to food items. Note the 'startle' response of... Click here for more information. An octopus's arms are covered in hundreds of suckers that will stick to just about anything, with one important exception. Those suckers generally won't grab onto the octopus itself; otherwise, the impressively flexible animals would quickly find themselves all tangled ...

First test of pluripotent stem cell therapy in monkeys is a success

2014-05-15

Researchers have shown for the first time in an animal that is more closely related to humans that it is possible to make new bone from stem-cell-like induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) made from an individual animal's own skin cells. The study in monkeys reported in the Cell Press journal Cell Reports on May 15th also shows that there is some risk that those iPSCs could seed tumors, but that unfortunate outcome appears to be less likely than studies in immune-compromised mice would suggest. "We have been able to design an animal model for testing of pluripotent ...

Mice with MS-like condition walk again after human stem cell treatment

2014-05-15

(SALT LAKE CITY) - Mice severely disabled by a condition similar to multiple sclerosis (MS) were able to walk less than two weeks following treatment with human neural stem cells. The finding, which uncovers potential new avenues for treating MS, will be published online on May 15, 2014, in the journal Stem Cell Reports. In striking contrast to active, healthy mice, those with an MS-like condition must be fed by hand because they cannot stand long enough to eat and drink on their own. When scientists transplanted human neural stem cells into the MS mice, they expected ...

Not just a pretty face, although that helps female politicians on election day

2014-05-15

Female politicians' success can be predicted by their facial features, especially in conservative states where women with more feminine faces tend to do better at the ballot box, a Dartmouth College-led study finds. The results don't mean a supermodel will win the White House, but they do suggest women's electoral success requires a delicate balance between voters' perception of traditional femininity and political competence. The study appears in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science. A PDF of the study is available on request. Here is a video animation ...

Stem cell therapy shows promise for MS in mouse model

2014-05-15

LA JOLLA, CA—May 15, 2014—Mice crippled by an autoimmune disease similar to multiple sclerosis (MS) regained the ability to walk and run after a team of researchers led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), University of Utah and University of California (UC), Irvine implanted human stem cells into their injured spinal cords. Remarkably, the mice recovered even after their bodies rejected the human stem cells. "When we implanted the human cells into mice that were paralyzed, they got up and started walking a couple of weeks later, and they completely ...

Genetic tracking identifies cancer stem cells in human patients

2014-05-15

The gene mutations driving cancer have been tracked for the first time in patients back to a distinct set of cells at the root of cancer – cancer stem cells. The international research team, led by scientists at the University of Oxford and the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, studied a group of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes – a malignant blood condition which frequently develops into acute myeloid leukaemia. The researchers say their findings, reported in the journal Cancer Cell, offer conclusive evidence for the existence of cancer stem cells. The concept ...

Combination therapy a potential strategy for treating Niemann Pick disease

2014-05-15

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (May 15, 2014) – By studying nerve and liver cells grown from patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), Whitehead Institute researchers have identified a potential dual-pronged approach to treating Niemann-Pick type C (NPC) disease, a rare but devastating genetic disorder. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), approximately 1 in 150,000 children born are afflicted with NPC, the most common variant of Niemann-Pick. Children with NPC experience abnormal accumulation of cholesterol in their liver and nerve cells, leading to ...

'Bystander' chronic infections thwart development of immune cell memory

2014-05-15

PHILADELPHIA – Studies of vaccine programs in the developing world have revealed that individuals with chronic infections such as malaria and hepatitis tend to be less likely to develop the fullest possible immunity benefits from vaccines for unrelated illnesses. The underlying mechanisms for that impairment, however, are unclear, and distinguishing these so-called "bystander" effects on priming the immune system to fight future assaults versus development of immunological memory has been challenging. A team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania ...

E-cigarette awareness goes up, as (apparently) so does skepticism

2014-05-15

PHILADELPHIA (May 15, 2014) – Americans are unquestionably more aware of e-cigarettes, those vapor-emitting alternatives to tobacco cigarettes, according to a national survey. Yet, at the same time, the belief that e-cigarettes are safer than traditional smokes may be starting to diminish. A national survey of 3,630 adults found that 77 percent of the respondents have heard of e-cigarettes; that's way up from 16 percent just five years ago. But the perception that e-cigarettes are actually less harmful than tobacco cigarettes among current smokers decreased slightly, ...

Silly Putty material inspires better batteries

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: