LONDON, April 7, 2015: A cheap, long-lasting and flexible battery made up of aluminum has been invented by scientists from U.S. They told they have invented it for smartphones and it could be charged in nearly one minute.
The researchers said that the new aluminum-ion battery has the capacity to replace lithium-ion batteries those are used in millions of laptops and mobile phones.They also added that the new aluminum battery is safer than existing lithium-ion batteries because it does not burst into flames like that of lithium-ion.
Researchers had been trying from a long time but they were not able to develop a battery made of aluminum. Their intention was to invent such a battery that would be light-weighted with high charging capacity and inexpensive metal as compared to lithium-ion batteries.
Then, a team lead by chemistry professor Hongjie Dai at Stanford University in California made a leap by accidentally discovering that graphite was a good partner of aluminum.
Aluminum was used to make the negatively-charged anode while graphite provided material for the positively charged cathode in a prototype.
The scientists said that a prototype aluminum battery recharged in one minute and it was very durable and flexible. Moreover, they added it could be bent or folded.
The new aluminum battery was able to continue after more than 7,500 cycles without loss of capacity whereas lithium-ion batteries last about 1,000 cycles only.
