Battery Particle Simulation_Advances on explaining why batteries fail and hence how they may be improved

Published on 15 Sep 2014 Two simulations show the differences between a battery being drained at a slower rate, over a full hour, versus a faster rate, only six minutes (a tenth of an hour). In both cases battery particles go from being fully charged (green) to fully drained (red), but there are significant differences in the patterns of discharge based on the rate.

 REFS and People Involved:

Current-induced transition from particle-by-particle to concurrent intercalation in phase-separating battery electrodes

 W. Chueh et al., Nature Materials, 14 September 2014 (10.1038/NMAT4084)

 Others work:
 Distinct charge dynamics in battery electrodes revealed by in situ and operando soft X-ray spectroscopy

Xiaosong Liu,

Dongdong Wang,

Gao Liu,

Venkat Srinivasan,

Zhi Liu,

Zahid Hussain

& Wanli Yang

A big chunk of Mat-Chem is about energy related topics such as Batteries & Fuel Cells

The article entitled "In search of the perfect battery" freely available online in The Economists 12 March 08 gives a good historical background and consumers view of the state of the art. I feel it is a good complement to the more fundamental issues in defining Materials Chemistry. This is equally relevant to the interdisciplinary roles played by Metallurgists-Corrosion Specialist, Materials Scientists & Engineers.

Looking forward to comments and suggestions, listing your own blogs on the progress of the materials sciences and their underlying chemical and physical foundations. They fully merit the excellent translation, of big media & more, especially for their economic and social role in these days of the the trials and tribulations of civilisations.

Good reading.