Brown algae could help your smartphone keep its charge

We bang our electronics , but the increasing demand of high end gadgets put a huge amount of stress on their Li - ion batteries , to the point where it ’s not uncommon to have to point your smartphone every day , and your laptop computer every couple of time of day . We keep waiting for the next big affair in batteries , but what might make your gadget keep go even longer could be a small pinch from an unexpected place .

Current battery electrode are made from graphite , but it ’s hoped by switching to atomic number 14 , larger capacity and long life Li - ion battery could be a reality . The only trouble is that we need to see something that can can tie effectively onto Si electrode . Current battery practice Polyvinylidene Fluoride ( PVDF ) which in plus to being toxic is n’t very practiced at binding to silicon .

Luckily , they ’ve encounter something thatworks well , and is substantially more environmentally friendly . Alginate is a polymer harvested from tight growing brown seaweed , and it ’s more efficient than PVDF with both Si and black lead . The way it works is that the alginate forms a protective film on top of the silicon electrode to stop the electrolyte solvent from lave onto the surface of atomic number 14 particles , preventing the battery from moulder .

Ideapad3i

“ We specifically look at material that had evolved in natural system , such as aquatic plants which grow in saltwater with a high-pitched concentration of ions , ” said Igor Luzinov , a prof in Clemson ’s School of Materials Science and Engineering . “ Since electrodes in batteries are immersed in a liquid electrolyte , we felt that aquatic works — in exceptional , plants growing in such an fast-growing environment as seawater — would be excellent candidate for natural binder . ”

With any luck , this will mean better , longer long-lived battery , and they might even be cheaper , too .

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