Full-cell, dual-cation battery developed in Ireland - will influence how we build chips
Dr. Syed Abdul Ahad and Associate Professor Hugh Geaney of UL's Department of Chemical Sciences and Bernal Institute.
Researchers at University of Limerick (UL) have developed a battery that could reshape the future of electric vehicles and portable electronics. Their breakthrough in energy storage technology has seen the development of the world's first full-cell dual-cation battery.
This innovative system combines lithium and sodium ions to significantly enhance both battery capacity and stability, marking a new frontier in sustainable energy research.
The work, published in Nano Energy, was led by Hugh Geaney, Associate Professor of Chemistry at UL's Department of Chemical Sciences and Principal Investigator at UL's Bernal Institute, and Government of Ireland postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Syed Abdul Ahad, his colleague at the Department and the Bernal Institute.
The project was in collaboration with researchers at University of Birmingham.
Unlike traditional sodium-only (single-cation) batteries, this new dual-cation system combines the strengths of both lithium and sodium, to deliver better performance while keeping sodium as the main component, making the technology more efficient and sustainable.
"For the first time, we've shown that sodium-ion batteries can be 'supercharged' by pairing sodium and lithium in a sodium-dominant dual-cation electrolyte," said Associate Professor Geaney.
"This breakthrough opens the door to more sustainable, high-performance battery chemistries."
Dr. Abdul Ahad, who conceptualized this study and carried out the experimental work under the guidance of his supervisor, explained, "By introducing both lithium and sodium cations, we actually double the battery's capacity that would otherwise be lower in a typical sodium-ion battery. This has never been done before on the anode materials we used, which are projected to have high capacity for sodium-ion batteries."
The battery's design allows lithium to act as a "capacity booster" within the electrolyte, supercharging a sodium-ion system while maintaining long-term stability. This approach not only improves energy density—critical for extending the range of electric vehicles—but also enhances safety and sustainability by reducing reliance on costly and environmentally challenging materials like cobalt.
Sodium-ion batteries have long been seen as a more sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries which currently power most commercial appliances, however sodium-ion batteries do not have the same energy density as lithium-ion, meaning a much poorer battery performance.
This exciting development means that sodium-ions can still be used to deliver high capacity. The lithium-ions and sodium-ions work in tandem during charge and discharge, and the cell can be cycled for up to 1,000 cycles, making it a much greener and less expensive battery.
The team now plans to expand the study to explore new material combinations and ion systems, including silicon-based anodes and alternative ion pairings such as lithium-magnesium and potassium-lithium.
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