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For about a decade, scientists and engineers have been developing sodium batteries, which replace both lithium and cobalt used in current lithium-ion batteries with cheaper, more environmentally friendly sodium. Unfortunately, in earlier sodium batteries, a component called the anode would tend to grow needle-like filaments called dendrites that can cause the battery to electrically short and even catch fire or explode.
[...] The new anode material, called sodium antimony telluride intermetallic -- Na metal composite (NST-Na), is made by rolling a thin sheet of sodium metal onto an antimony telluride powder, folding it over on itself, and repeating many times.
[...] This process results in a very uniform distribution of sodium atoms that makes it less likely to form dendrites or surface corrosion than existing sodium metal anodes. That makes the battery more stable and allows faster charging, comparable to a lithium-ion battery's charge rate. It also has a higher energy capacity than existing sodium-ion batteries.
[Professor Graeme] Henkelman said that if the sodium atoms that carry a charge in a sodium battery bind more strongly to each other than they do to the anode, they tend to form instabilities, or clumps of sodium that attract more sodium atoms and eventually lead to dendrites. He used a computer simulation to reveal what happens when individual sodium atoms interact with the new composite material NST-Na.
"In our calculations, this composite binds sodium a little more strongly than sodium binds itself, which is the ideal case for having the sodium atoms come down and evenly spread out on the surface and prevent these instabilities from forming," Henkelman said.
Yixian Wang, Hui Dong, Naman Katyal, Hongchang Hao, Pengcheng Liu, Hugo Celio, Graeme Henkelman, John Watt, David Mitlin. A Sodium–Antimony–Telluride Intermetallic Allows Sodium‐Metal Cycling at 100% Depth of Discharge and as an Anode‐Free Metal Battery. Advanced Materials, 2021; 2106005 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202106005
(Score: 2) by MIRV888 on Thursday December 09 2021, @12:16AM (3 children)
Sodium flashes in air just like lithium. Now you have a fire which is not extinguishable by normal means. This is still a huge issue IMHO.
Don't get me wrong. A more abundant, easily processed material is a huge advance, but it still burns in the atmosphere.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 09 2021, @12:34AM (2 children)
Aren't graphite extinguishers normal for metal fires?
(Score: 2) by MIRV888 on Thursday December 09 2021, @01:41AM (1 child)
Sure, but what consumer has a graphite extinguisher sitting around?
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday December 09 2021, @04:59PM
Doesn't every fire department have some class D fire extinguishers?
If you eat an entire cake without cutting it, you technically only had one piece.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 09 2021, @12:53AM (3 children)
Lithium isn't the problem, cobalt is. But you can use phosphate instead of cobalt, and still have a good battery.
Tellurium, on the other hand, is pretty toxic. And rare, as rare as platinum, but at least it's mined in the Americas. (Antimony isn't too hard to come by, but it's mined in China).
Overall, not sure this is better, unless further research finds more improvements.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Thursday December 09 2021, @02:42AM (2 children)
Antimony is also toxic, and.... doesn't look to me like it's any improvement:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimony#Supply_risk_and_critical_mineral_rankings [wikipedia.org]
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 09 2021, @03:52AM (1 child)
Well, I'm sure antimony is worse for you than unicorn farts, but it's not really toxic. It's pretty much just irritating dust, so wear a respirator and gloves.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Friday December 10 2021, @03:12PM
Same could be said for Asbestos.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by crafoo on Thursday December 09 2021, @02:43AM
I have some experience with antimony - required monthly blood tests if you work around it. Respirators required. Dust form is possibly the worst form to deal with it in. My understanding is that it's worse than lead, but similar issues. So if we can recycle it like we can with lead-acid batteries that would work out nice.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Spamalope on Thursday December 09 2021, @08:42AM
They solved the dendrite problem?
So they fixed the lifespan problem that way right? Right? What's the lifespan?!? It's not in the article because it's still bad, isn't it?!?
I can translate that marketing speak: The capacity is below Lion batteries. They would have compared capacity vs Lion batteries if it were higher.
If they can make them 'ok' and cheap; and or safer, or longer lifespan, or lighter, more tolerant of heat or physical damage ... something that could make it a workable compromise...