Powerful Microbatteries Could Charge Smartphone in Under One Second

Posted on April 24, 2013

Researchers at the University of Illinois say they have developed powerful microbatteries. These lithium ion microbatteries are only a few millimeters in size, but the researchers say they are so powerful that a driver could use a cellphone powered by the batteries to jump start a dead car battery. A smartphone could be charged in less than a second with these microbatteries.

The researchers say the batteries could enable sensors or radio signals that broadcast 30 times farther and devices that are 30 times smaller. The batteries are rechargeable and can charge 1,000 times faster than competing technologies.

William P. King, the Bliss Professor of mechanical science and engineering, said in a statement, "This is a whole new way to think about batteries. A battery can deliver far more power than anybody ever thought. In recent decades, electronics have gotten small. The thinking parts of computers have gotten small. And the battery has lagged far behind. This is a microtechnology that could change all of that. Now the power source is as high-performance as the rest of it."

The batteries have an internal three-dimensional microstructure. Batteries have two key components: the anode (minus side) and cathode (plus side). The researchers started with a three-dimensional nanostructure cathode design by materials science and engineering professor Paul Braun's group. King and James Pikul, a graduate student at the U of I, developed a matching anode. They then developed a new way to integrate the two components at the microscale to make a complete battery with superior performance.

The sooner these batteries can make into consumer devices the better. Consumers have been demanding improved batteries for gadgets for years. The research was published here in the journal Nature Communications.

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