Scientists at the University of Texas at Dallas have made an exciting discovery that could improve the safety and performance of batteries used in phones, electric cars, and even drones.
Their work focuses on a new type of battery called a solid-state battery, which uses solid materials instead of the liquid chemicals found in most lithium-ion batteries today.
Traditional lithium-ion batteries rely on liquid electrolytes to carry electrical charges between components.
But these liquids are flammable and can pose safety risks. Solid-state batteries, which replace the liquid with solid materials, promise to be much safer—and potentially store much more energy.
However, getting electric charges (ions) to move easily through solid materials has been a big challenge.
Now, researchers have found that mixing two types of solid electrolyte materials—lithium zirconium chloride and lithium yttrium chloride—can help solve this problem.
When the two materials touch, a special layer forms at their boundary. This layer, called a “space charge layer,” creates a buildup of electric charge that actually helps ions move more easily between the materials.
Dr. Laisuo Su, a materials science professor and one of the lead researchers, explained that this is like mixing two cooking ingredients and ending up with something better than either one on its own. In this case, the combination of the two solid materials allowed ions to travel faster than they could through either material separately.
This discovery opens up new ways to design better batteries by carefully selecting and combining solid materials that enhance each other’s performance. The research was published in the journal ACS Energy Letters, where it was featured on the cover of the March issue.
This project is part of a larger effort called BEACONS, a research initiative at UT Dallas that began in 2023.
The goal of BEACONS is to create new battery technologies, improve the supply of important raw materials, and train skilled workers for the growing energy industry. Dr. Kyeongjae Cho, who leads the BEACONS initiative, said solid-state battery research is especially important for future defense technologies like advanced drones.
While today’s lithium-ion batteries are approaching their limits in terms of how much energy they can store, solid-state batteries could potentially hold more than twice as much power—and do it more safely.
The UT Dallas team plans to keep studying how the structures at the boundary of different solid materials can boost battery performance even further.
This discovery brings scientists one step closer to developing next-generation batteries that are safer, more powerful, and longer-lasting.
