Researchers from Samsung have developed materials they say can double the power capacity of lithium-ion batteries.

The research has dramatically improved the capacity of lithium-ion batteries by applying a new synthesis method of high-crystalline graphene to a high-capacity silicon cathode, says Son In-hyuk. The research has dramatically improved the capacity of lithium-ion batteries by applying a new synthesis method of high-crystalline graphene to a high-capacity silicon cathode, says Son In-hyuk. The technology uses silicon cathode material coded with high-crystalline graphene to produce batteries with twice as much capacity as regular lithium-ion batteries, according to Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT).

"The research has dramatically improved the capacity of lithium-ion batteries by applying a new synthesis method of high-crystalline graphene to a high-capacity silicon cathode," says Son In-hyuk, a researcher at SAIT. "We will continue to improve the secondary cell technology to meet the expanding demand from mobile device and electric vehicle markets."

The technology is expected to have the most impact on the performance of mobile devices and electric vehicles.

The lithium-ion battery has gradually experienced improvements since its invention in 1991, but the properties have generally limited improvements to capacity. Researchers in recent years have accelerated the development of materials for a high-capacity battery that can overcome the limitations in graphite material.

One such material is silicon, which can potentially realize more than 10 times the power capacity compared to graphite. But technological problems have remained related to degradation of battery life.

SAIT researchers turned to graphene, a relatively new material that is physically strong and highly conductive, in an effort to solve this problem.

Graphene has up to four times the capacity of graphite and can double the energy density of ordinary lithium-ion batteries, researchers say.

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