Chemical engineers at Stanford Univ. have developed a unique, stretchable battery with a solid polymer electrolyte that they say is safer than batteries with liquid electrolytes.
Many stretchable batteries incorporate polymers as electrolytes, i.e., the medium that allows charge to flow between the cathode and the anode. These polymer electrolytes are generally flowable gels.
“Even within flexible batteries, the electrolyte is typically made of liquid. The battery is simply injected with the liquid electrolyte, and with a flowing flammable or toxic liquid, there is risk of leakage,” says David Mackanic, a chemical engineer at Stanford Univ. “Our battery has a solid polymer electrolyte that allows ions to move around safely.”
The stretchable battery centers on the team’s novel polymer electrolyte — made up of a supermolecular lithium ion conductor (SLIC) — which is also incorporated into both the anode and cathode...
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