{"id":663102,"date":"2025-04-16T18:15:20","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T15:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/zero-thermal-expansion-materials-rejuvenate-aging-batteries\/"},"modified":"2025-04-16T18:15:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T15:15:20","slug":"zero-thermal-expansion-materials-rejuvenate-aging-batteries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/zero-thermal-expansion-materials-rejuvenate-aging-batteries\/","title":{"rendered":"Zero thermal expansion materials rejuvenate aging batteries"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n The negative and positive thermal expansion behavior of battery cathode materials upon heating. Credit: NIMTE
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A team of scientists have developed zero thermal expansion (ZTE) materials. This innovation has achieved nearly 100% voltage recovery in aging lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Their study is published<\/a> in Nature<\/i>.<\/p>\n

LIBs have become increasingly essential in the markets for electric vehicles and aircraft. Lithium-rich layered oxide cathode materials can deliver record capacities exceeding 300 mAh\/g, thanks to revolutionary oxygen-redox (OR) chemistry.<\/p>\n

However, they are plagued by operational instability. The OR activity that enhances energy density by 30% also triggers asymmetric lattice distortion and voltage decay, which accelerates battery aging.<\/p>\n

Thermal expansion is a common phenomenon in nature. It often leads to structural disorder or loss of precision, ultimately compromising material performance.<\/p>\n

The researchers led by Prof. Liu Zhaoping at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology<\/a> and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Science<\/a>s, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Chicago and other institutions, discovered negative thermal expansion (NTE) behavior in lithium-rich layered oxide cathode materials, which contract when heated within the temperature range of 150\u2013250\u00b0C.<\/p>\n

This unusual behavior, contrary to conventional thermodynamic expectations, can be attributed to thermally driven disorder-order transitions.<\/p>\n

Treating structural disorder as a tunable parameter rather than a defect, the researchers revealed a correlation between OR activity and NTE coefficients.<\/p>\n

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“By tuning reversible OR activity, the thermal expansion coefficient can be precisely switched among positive, zero, and negative states,” explained Qiu Bao, a lead author of the study.<\/p>\n

The team established a robust predictive framework, enabling the world’s first ZTE cathode through precise OR tuning. These ZTE materials effectively counteract thermal expansion, enhancing structural stability and durability.<\/p>\n

When subjected to 4.0 V voltage pulses, the lattice structure was reconstructed, achieving nearly 100% voltage recovery. This finding suggests that smart charging systems could restore materials from disordered states to ordered states in situ using electrochemical methods, potentially doubling battery lifespan.<\/p>\n

Beyond rejuvenating aging batteries, making old electric vehicles like new, this advancement opens new frontiers in ZTE material engineering. The study also sheds light on the self-healing function design of high-performance devices.<\/p>\n

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More information:<\/strong>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYing Shirley Meng, Negative thermal expansion and oxygen-redox electrochemistry, Nature<\/i> (2025). DOI: 10.1038\/s41586-025-08765-x<\/a>. www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-025-08765-x<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n Provided by
\n Chinese Academy of Sciences
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\n Citation<\/strong>:
\n From disorder to order: Zero thermal expansion materials rejuvenate aging batteries (2025, April 16)
\n retrieved 16 April 2025
\n from https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news<\/a>\/2025-04-disorder-thermal-expansion-materials-rejuvenate.html\n <\/p>\n

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