(Press-News.org) Scientists are reporting development of an advanced lithium-ion battery that is ideal for powering the electric vehicles now making their way into dealer showrooms. The new battery can store large amounts of energy in a small space and has a high rate capacity, meaning it can provide current even in extreme temperatures. A report on this innovation appears in ACS' Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Bruno Scrosati, Yang-Kook Sun, and colleagues point out that consumers have a great desire for electric vehicles, given the shortage and expense of petroleum. But a typical hybrid car can only go short distances on electricity alone, and they hold less charge in very hot or very cold temperatures. With the government push to have one million electric cars on U.S. roads by 2015, the pressure to solve these problems is high. To make electric vehicles a more realistic alternative to gas-powered automobiles, the researchers realized that an improved battery was needed.
The scientists developed a high-capacity, nanostructured, tin-carbon anode, or positive electrode, and a high-voltage, lithium-ion cathode, the negative electrode. When the two parts are put together, the result is a high-performance battery with a high energy density and rate capacity. "On the basis of the performance demonstrated here, this battery is a top candidate for powering sustainable vehicles," the researchers say.
###
The authors acknowledge funding from WCU (World Class University) program through the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation.
ARTICLE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"An Advanced Lithium Ion Battery Based on High Performance Electrode Materials"
DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT ARTICLE
http://pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/ja110522x
CONTACT:
Bruno Scrosati, Ph.D.
Department of Chemistry
University of Rome Sapienza
00185
Rome, Italy
Tel: +39 06-4462866
Fax: +39 06-491769
Email: bruno.scrosati@uniroma1.it
New high-performance lithium-ion battery 'top candidate' for electric cars
2011-02-24
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2 drugs protect hearing better than 1
2011-02-24
Whether on a battlefield, in a factory or at a rock concert, noise-induced hearing loss is one of the most common hazards people face.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a low-dose, two-drug cocktail that reduces hearing loss in mice when given before they are exposed to loud noise. The drugs, already FDA-approved for other conditions, also treat hearing loss after noise exposure.
While both drugs are known to protect hearing on their own, this is the first study to test the two in combination.
"We found they have ...
Iowa State, Ames Lab researchers describe the pump that bacteria use to resist drugs
2011-02-24
AMES, Iowa – A research team led by Edward Yu of Iowa State University and the Ames Laboratory has identified and described two parts of the three-part system that pumps toxins from bacteria and allows them to resist antibiotics.
The discoveries are published in the Feb. 24 issue of the journal Nature.
The paper describes the co-crystal structure of two parts of the three-part efflux pump that recognizes and removes heavy metal toxins from bacteria. A research team led by Yu – an Iowa State associate professor of physics and astronomy, of chemistry, of biochemistry, ...
Making solar panels with cleaner, greener technology
2011-02-24
Mention solar energy, and most people think "squeaky clean, pollution-free." The reality of making solar panels with existing technology, however, is much different, involving use of potentially toxic substances and lots of energy. That could change, according to an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), ACS' weekly newsmagazine.
In the article, C&EN Associate Editor Sarah Everts describes the beginning of a scientific effort to manufacture solar panels in a way that better fits the public perception. Current silicon-based solar panels, ...
U of M researcher discovers stereotypes can deter consumer purchases
2011-02-24
The perception of negative stereotyping, particularly in the areas of financial services and automobile sales and service, can cause consumers to fear being duped and forgo their purchases, according to new research by University of Minnesota associate professor Kathleen D. Vohs.
Vohs, the Land O'Lakes Professor for Excellence in Marketing at the university's Carlson School of Management, and co-authors Hakkyun Kim (Concordia University, Canada) and Kyoungmi Lee (Yonsei University, Korea) found that a potential buyer, aware of negative associations held about a group ...
Whole fresh blood for transfusions may have a longer shelf life than now assumed
2011-02-24
In a finding that may potentially improve survival from war injuries and disasters, laboratory researchers report that refrigerated whole blood may have a shelf life well beyond the current standard of 24 to 48 hours.
"We have found that whole blood retains its clotting properties at least 11 days under standard refrigeration," said the study leader, David Jobes, M.D., a cardiothoracic anesthesiologist in the Cardiac Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "If this lab discovery can be confirmed in human subjects, it may lead to a change in clinical practice, ...
New long-acting local anesthetic derived from algae effectively blocks pain in surgical patients
2011-02-24
Boston, MA -- A U.S.-Chile collaboration is bringing surgical patients closer to having a long-acting local anesthetic. In a randomized, double-blind trial, patients given neosaxitoxin, a new local anesthetic derived from algae, had significantly less postoperative pain and recovered about two days sooner than those given the commonly used local anesthetic bupivacaine. Based on this finding, Children's Hospital Boston, a co-investigator on the study, has signed a collaboration agreement with biotech start-up company Proteus SA (Santiago, Chile) to move the new anesthetic ...
Are we more -- or less -- moral than we think?
2011-02-24
A study by Rimma Teper, Michael Inzlicht, and Elizabeth Page-Gould of the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) on human morality has just been published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association of Psychological Science.
The study tested the difference between moral forecasting and moral action—and the reasons behind any mismatch. The findings look encouraging: people act more morally than they would have predicted.
But lest we get sentimental about that result, lead author and psychology PhD candidate Teper offers this: "There has been other work ...
New study confirms body weight influences risk of death among Asians
2011-02-24
A study of more than 1 million Asians found that those who were a normal weight were far less likely to die from any cause than individuals whose body-mass index (BMI) was too high or low. A similar association was seen between BMI and the risk of death from cancer, cardiovascular disease or other causes.
The study, led by Wei Zheng, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., Ingram Professor of Cancer Research at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, Tenn., Paolo Boffetta, M.D., M.P.H., professor, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, N.Y., and John D. Potter, M.D., Ph.D., member ...
Bacteria living on old-growth trees
2011-02-24
A new study by Dr. Zoë Lindo, a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Biology at McGill University, and Jonathan Whiteley, a doctoral student in the same department, shows that large, ancient trees may be very important in helping forests grow.
These findings highlight the importance of maintaining the large old-growth trees in the coastal temperate rainforests that stretch from Southern Alaska to Northern California. Lindo's findings suggest that it is the interactions between old trees, mosses and cyanobacteria, which contribute to nutrient dynamics in a way that ...
'Weird science' uncovered inside neutron star
2011-02-24
A University of Alberta astronomer has glimpsed the inner working of a neutron star and found a unique world where the physics can be described as "weird." Craig Heinke's team found the neutron star's core contained a superfluid, a friction-less liquid that could seemingly defy the laws of gravity.
"If you could put some of this superfluid in a jar it would flow up the walls of the container and over the edge," said Heinke.
Heinke says the core of the neutron star also contains a superconductor, a perfect electrical conductor. "An electric current in a superconductor ...