I remember using a phone that takes longer to charge than the battery takes to last when in use. We live in a world where batteries play a lot of roles in a lot of activities. There was even a joke of a hospital janitor that unplugged a patient's lifesaving machine to charge his phone. Such is the need for people to keep their batteries charged. Most people spend the more significant part of their day charging their devices. But what if there is a technology to reduce the time it takes to get a full charge? Say, speed it up to like five times what we are currently used to?
The New Kid on The Block
Image from CC 4.0 Licence-Free to Use
Graphene is composed entirely of carbon atoms just like its closest associate the diamond. It is extracted from the graphite which is found in the everyday writing material the pencil.
Its structure is made up of 2D hexagonal carbon atoms in the shape of a honeycomb with a thickness only 0.3 nm and space between each atom at 0.1 nm. A millimetre of graphite comprises 3 million layers of graphene.
Extracting graphene ( a 2D structural material) from graphite ( a 3D structural material) was done by two professors, Prof Andre Gelm and Prof Kostya Novoselov of University of Manchester School of Physics and Astronomy in 2004 that earned them a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 for their scientific feat.
This successful isolation of graphene had opened the doors to a lot of application of graphene.
It could be applied as membranes to filter water which I made a blog post of here, as composites in weatherproof paints, in aerospace as it is almost light and nearly indestructible due to it being 200 times stronger than steel. The application in medical science as smart implants, in electronics, sensors and energy, etc.
Graphene has a lot of application in energy particularly the batteries. Its properties of lightness and being super-conductive makes for this to be possible in building the next generation car batteries that could supply massive amounts of power with little losses compared to the conventional batteries.
Living in a world where batteries have come to be a part of our lives, having a lightweight battery makes it easy to carry. For instance, in warfare or peacetime soldiers have to take batteries on them for their radio communication.
Graphene, when added to lithium-ion batteries, have increased the charge rate dramatically.
Graphene in Batteries
Samsung, the South Korean Conglomerate, announced on 28th November 2017, announced the use of graphene to build a phone's battery that would charge for 12 minutes which is 5x the regular charging time.
In theory, a battery based on the “graphene ball” material requires only 12 minutes to charge fully. Additionally, the battery can maintain a highly stable 60 degree Celsius temperature, with stable battery temperatures particularly key for electric vehicles. Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT)
The Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) had found a way to synthesise, and mass produces graphene into a 3D popcorn like ball dubbed "graphene ball." The method involves using the cheaper and more available silica (Si02) to enhance faster charging of batteries since the current fast charging technology had hit its limit.
The technology Samsung used to add graphene ball to the anode and cathode materials of batteries is known as chemical vapour deposition (CVD). The lithium batteries that have graphene balls coated has an improved cyclability (can be drained and charged over and over again many more times) and experience faster charging than the regular batteries.
Although there are batteries already existing with the capability to store a tremendous amount of power but charging them takes time, and they are heavy. Others that could charge quickly discharge just as fast. But graphene batteries is a game changer as it could be charged super fast, and it would hold the charge. Conversely, quick energy draw from it won't damage the battery as graphene is a superconductor.
Graphene batteries would revolutionalise batteries as we know it and render traditional batteries obsolete.
While Tesla is sitting on the sidelines waiting for more advances on the graphene battery technology, his closest competitor Fisker EMotion is already thinking on how to use graphene batteries in upcoming electric car models by 2023.
The upstart company filed patents for a new solid-state battery design that would give its cars some truly astonishing performance capabilities. Fisker says the new batteries will give its vehicles a range of more than 500 miles per charge, with the capability to power up in less than one minute.
Those two stats would smash Tesla's current top options, not to mention every other car and battery out there. Tesla's most long-range vehicle, the Model S 100D, offers an estimated 335 miles per charge using a lithium-ion battery. Tesla cars usually take about half an hour to fully charge at one of the company's Supercharger stations. Mashable
While Samsung graphene batteries is still a work in progress, a Hong Kong radio-controlled (RC) aircraft battery manufacturer Turnigy already has a graphene-lithium ion polymer(LiPo) batteries in the market.
The coming years would be a revolutionary one on battery technology, and it is about time that is done as the current technology needs an upgrade.
