I-Corps: Silicon(Si)-based Rechargeable Batteries

I-Corps：硅 (Si) 基可充电电池

• 批准号: 1922937
• 负责人: Leon Shaw
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: Illinois Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-04-01 至 2021-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1922937&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Silicon; Si; based; Rechargeable

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to develop silicon(Si)-based rechargeable batteries that can simultaneously provide ultrafast charging capability, high specific energy and long-lasting cycle life. Such rechargeable batteries will allow cell phones to be charged to their full capacity within 20 min (rather than 2 hours offered by the current battery technology available in the market) while extending the usage time to 3 days (rather than 2 days of current technology) before recharge is needed. These ultrafast charging and high energy batteries can also find a market for other consumer products, such as cameras, laptops, drones, power tools, electric forklifts in warehouses, and military devices, to improve work productivity and life quality for consumers. Furthermore, Si-based high energy batteries can be utilized to reduce the cost and weight of electric vehicle battery packs by 60%. These advancements will pave the way for broad market penetration of electric vehicles and support a more environmentally sustainable mode of transportation. This I-Corps project employs a novel, simple and low-cost manufacturing method that can synthesize a new type of Si-based anode powder which exhibits unusual properties with ultrafast charging capability, high specific capacity and long-lasting cycle life. This new Si-based anode is termed as Si@void@C because it contains three distinct features simultaneously: (i) nanostructured Si building blocks, (ii) a conductive carbon shell outside the nanostructured Si core, and (iii) engineered void space inside the Si core. Together these three features offer the much-needed properties for Li-ion batteries: ultrafast charging capability, high specific energy and long-lasting cycle life. Based on these unique properties, the Si-based rechargeable batteries are designed in two general categories, one being "ultrafast charging batteries" that can shorten the charging time to 20 min while still allowing cell phones to be used for 3 days before re-charge and the other being "high energy batteries" which require 2 hours charging time, but allow users to recharge batteries every 6 days. Furthermore, "high energy batteries" can enable a reduction in the cost of the battery packs by 60% for electric vehicles, removing a critical barrier to consumer acceptance.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该 I-Corps 项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发硅 (Si) 基可充电电池，该电池可以同时提供超快充电能力、高比能量和持久的循环寿命。这种充电电池可以让手机在20分钟内充满电（而不是当前市场上现有电池技术的2小时），同时将使用时间延长至3天（而不是当前技术的2天）在需要充电之前。这些超快充电和高能电池还可以为其他消费产品找到市场，例如相机、笔记本电脑、无人机、电动工具、仓库电动叉车和军事设备，以提高消费者的工作效率和生活质量。此外，利用硅基高能电池可将电动汽车电池组的成本和重量降低60%。这些进步将为电动汽车的广泛市场渗透铺平道路，并支持更环保的可持续交通方式。该I-Corps项目采用新颖、简单且低成本的制造方法，可以合成新型硅基负极粉末，该粉末具有超快充电能力、高比容量和长循环寿命等不寻常的特性。这种新型硅基阳极被称为 Si@void@C，因为它同时包含三个不同的特征：(i) 纳米结构硅构建块，(ii) 纳米结构硅核外部的导电碳壳，以及 (iii) 工程空隙空间Si 核心内部。这三个特性共同提供了锂离子电池急需的特性：超快充电能力、高比能量和持久的循环寿命。基于这些独特的特性，硅基充电电池被设计为两大类，一类是“超快充电电池”，可以将充电时间缩短至20分钟，同时仍允许手机在充电前使用3天另一种是“高能电池”，需要2小时充电时间，但允许用户每6天充电一次。此外，“高能电池”可以使电动汽车电池组的成本降低60%，消除消费者接受的关键障碍。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。