New Material Could Pave Way for Better, Safer Batteries

In pursuit of batteries that deliver more power and operate more safely, researchers are working to replace the liquids commonly used in today’s lithium ion batteries with solid materials. Now, a research team from Brown University and the University of Maryland has developed a new material for use in solid-state batteries that’s derived from an unlikely source: trees. In research published in the journal Nature, the team demonstrates a solid ion conductor that combines copper with cellulose nanofibrils — polymer tubes derived from wood. The paper-thin material has an ion conductivity that is 10 to 100 times better than other polymer ion conductors, the researchers say. It could be used as either a solid battery electrolyte or as an ion-conducting binder for the cathode of an all-solid-state battery.