Researchers at Swansea University, in collaboration with Wuhan University of Technology, Shenzhen University, have developed a pioneering technique for producing large-scale graphene current collectors.
This breakthrough guarantees to significantly enhance the security and performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), addressing a critical challenge in energy storage technology.
Published in Nature Chemical Engineering, the study details the primary successful protocol for fabricating defect-free graphene foils on a business scale. These foils offer extraordinary thermal conductivity — as much as 1,400.8 W m-1 K-1 — nearly ten times higher than traditional copper and aluminium current collectors utilized in LIBs.
“It is a significant step forward for battery technology,” said Dr Rui Tan, co-lead writer from Swansea University. “Our method allows for the production of graphene current collectors at a scale and quality that might be readily integrated into business battery manufacturing. This not only improves battery safety by efficiently managing heat but in addition enhances energy density and longevity.”
Probably the most pressing concerns in the event of high-energy LIBs, especially those utilized in electric vehicles, is thermal runaway — a dangerous scenario where excessive heat results in battery failure, often leading to fires or explosions. These graphene current collectors are designed to mitigate this risk by efficiently dissipating heat and stopping the exothermic reactions that result in thermal runaway.
“Our dense, aligned graphene structure provides a strong barrier against the formation of flammable gases and prevents oxygen from permeating the battery cells, which is crucial for avoiding catastrophic failures,” explained Dr Jinlong Yang, co-lead writer from Shenzhen University.
The newly developed process isn’t only a laboratory success but a scalable solution, capable of manufacturing graphene foils in lengths starting from meters to kilometres. In a major demonstration of its potential, the researchers produced a 200-meter-long graphene foil with a thickness of 17 micrometers. This foil retained high electrical conductivity even after being bent over 100,000 times, making it ideal to be used in flexible electronics and other advanced applications.
This latest approach also allows for the production of graphene foils with customizable thicknesses, which could lead on to much more efficient and safer batteries.
This innovation could have wide-reaching implications for the long run of energy storage, particularly in electric vehicles and renewable energy systems, where safety and efficiency are paramount. This international collaborative research team led by Prof Liqiang Mai and Prof Daping He from Wuhan University of technology, Dr Jinlong Yang from Shenzhen University and Dr Rui Tan from Swansea University is constant to refine their process, with ongoing efforts to scale back the thickness of the graphene foils and further enhance their mechanical properties, also exploring this latest material beyond Li-ion batteries, similar to redox flow batteries and sodium-ion batteries with the help from Professor Serena Margodonna’s group at Swansea University.
