Dec 04, 2020 Pageview:511
Battery technology has gone through a lot of improvements and innovations in the past years. This has made some significantly better types of batteries out of which the lithium-ion batteries are the best for now. But there is an interesting type of lithium batteries being tested these days.
This is a rather unique technology of batteries because it is an unconventional type of cathode functionality. As the name suggests, the Li-air batteries have air in them in a specific form that helps in the functionality of the battery.
However, this is the technology of batteries that is still under research so most people do not know about this battery technology in detail. Here we will discuss the working and advantages of these batteries.
As the battery has air in its name, most of the people that come to hear about this battery think that the battery will have air in it. This is right thinking because the name of the battery tells about the 2 elements that are used in the battery.
These two elements contain lithium and air. However, air is in the form of oxygen. Here we will discuss more about the different parts of the Li-air batteries and their elements as well.
The cathode of the Li-air is oxygen. It is because the cathode will be responsible for collecting the electrons from the circuit and oxygen is better at doing this as compared to any other element for now. Even if some elements match the rate provided by oxygen, they will never be able to meet the level of oxygen because it is a gas, and that element will be in solid form.
So, this will create a major difference in the weight and volume. This is one of the reasons why the Li-air battery technology is thought to be the best battery technology for the coming years.
The other element that is present in the Li-air batteries is lithium. It is present at the anode in a metallic form. Lithium is used in different forms in the battery and the type of Li-air battery is distinguished by the formation of lithium in that battery. Here are some types of lithium used in the Li-air batteries.
Solid.
Aqueous.
Non-aqueous.
Hybrid.
The electrolyte is also present in these batteries to separate the anode and cathode from each other.
Just like the other types of batteries, the Li-air batteries also work on the principles of electrolysis between the elements of the battery however this happens in an unconventional way here. Here we will discuss how electrolysis happens in the Li-air batteries.
The process of electrolysis.
The process starts with the lithium-ion combined with the oxygen from air. This is responsible for the production of the lithium oxide at the positive electrode. as the battery is connected to a circuit with the help of the traditional method of electrodes, the electrons start to flow between the terminals of the battery.
This flow of electrons from one terminal of the battery to the other terminal of the battery causes the battery to provide power to the loads connected to the terminals of the battery.
Applications of the Li-air batteries.
With the usage of oxygen at one electrode of the batteries, these batteries are revolutionizing the world of battery technology. This is the reason why it is thought that these batteries can replace the need for burning fuel for most of the applications. Here we will discuss some of the applications the Li-air batteries.
?Airplane engines.
A major part of the airplanes comes from their engines and the fuel that is used in the planes. These batteries can provide a lot of energy in a very less weight. This makes these batteries perfect for powering the propellers of airplanes.
?Mobile homes.
As these batteries take less space and they are also weightless, they can be used for mobile homes like the home setups that come in the form of vans or busses.
Although this is a technology that is still under research, most people believe that this might be the future of battery technology. It is because the battery comes with some amazing benefits. As the battery is still under research, some problems need to be solved before the mass production of the Li-air batteries.
However, once those issues are resolved, this could be called the best battery technology. Here we will discuss why and how the Li-air batteries are the best.
Ability to store more energy.
We have seen that the batteries traditionally used two different metals at different electrodes of the battery. As the charges flow between the metals, current is produced. But this is limited to the charge string and delivering capabilities of the metals used in the batteries. You can observe that most of the modern-day batteries have lithium in it, but the other element is usually changed.
It is because scientists are trying to find an element that is better than the previous one. Oxygen that is present in the air which is used in the Li-air proves to be very efficient in terms of sorting more energy and delivering the energy efficiently. This significantly increases the capacity and performance of these batteries in comparison to any other type of battery.
Small size and less weight.
As oxygen is an element that is used in the Li-air batteries and it is used in gaseous form, this brings a lot of productivity to the batteries. Gases have this property where they can be compressed in volume, but the number of molecules remains the same. This is very helpful in reducing the size of batteries.
However, the performance of these batteries remains the same. As the volume of these gases in batteries is compressed, the size also gets small. This makes these batteries very competitive than other batteries.
Innovation leads towards betterment in every technology and the Li-air batteries are a great example of innovation in battery technology. If this technology gets under construction, this can change the world so drastically that it might replace the fuel for airplanes.
Other than this it can also revolutionize the automobile world. Here we discussed some interesting facts about the Li-air batteries.
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