Animation: Battery Cycling (IMAGE)

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Animation: Battery Cycling

Caption

An animation shows two contrasting views of how electrode particles release their stored lithium ions during battery charging. Red particles are full of lithium and green ones are empty. Scientists had thought ions flowed out of all the particles at once and at roughly the same speed (left). But a new study by SLAC and Stanford researchers paints a different picture (right): Some particles release a lot of ions immediately and a fast clip, while others release ions slowly or not at all. This uneven pattern stresses the battery and reduces its lifetime.

Credit

Hongbo Zhao/MIT

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