A new generation of higher-powered batteries for phones and cameras could result from ground-breaking research led by scientists at the University of Kent.

Researchers from the University's School of Physical Sciences (SPS), working with scientists from other European institutions, formulated a recipe to increase the rate at which a solid material - an artificial mineral - can conduct charge.

The team found that a phenomenon known as geometric frustration can be used in this process to increase the charge transport rate in the solid material in a way that is comparable with heating that material.

Making use of this phenomenon, the team was able to 'tune' materials to be used in future batteries and fuel cells to speed up ionic conductivity.

Lead researcher Dr Dean Sayle and his team in SPS found that geometric frustration broke up the regimented formation of atoms in the material, leading to a more disordered pattern. This disordered pattern allowed the charge to pass through the material at a much higher rate.

Dr Sayle said: 'Disorder can be created by geometric frustration which might be understood as randomly giving two kinds of differently sized umbrellas to a regimented parade of people and telling them to put them up and come as close together as the size of the umbrellas allow.

'Naturally, this will lead to a destruction of the former formation towards a disordered formation exhibiting a large number of gaps. Similarly, we used geometric frustration to make the atoms disordered by mixing two differently sized atoms together which increased charge transport by 100,000'.

As well as more powerful batteries, the new technique may lead to the development of new energy materials with zero- emissions.

Geometric Frustration-Induced Disorder a Recipe for High Ionic Conductivity?

Tweet

Can the motion of checking your smartwatch charge it?
Washington DC (SPX) May 11, 2017
Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are small devices that convert movement into electricity, and might just be what bring us into an era of energy-harvesting clothes and implants. But could TENGs, even theoretically, give us wearable electronics powered solely by the wearer's day-to-day body motion? The short answer is yes. New research from Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT ... read more

Related Links
University of Kent
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only