LITHIUM 3 (IMAGE) Rice University Caption Rice University researchers Liang Hong, left, and Ming Tang study the lithium transport characteristics of batteries. They and their colleagues discovered that defects in common lithium-ion battery cathodes can potentially improve the material's performance over "perfect" electrodes. Credit Jeff Fitlow/Rice University Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.