A team of scientists at The University of Tennessee (UT) are developing a liquid electrolyte they hope will boost the safety and performance of lithium-ion batteries.
The scientists aim to develop an ionic liquid system to replace current electrolytes based on lithium salts combined with organic additives.
Joshua Sangoro, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at UT, heads the team working on designing electrochemically and thermally stable polymer electrolytes with dc conductivities above 10mS/cm at room temperature.
The team has molded the substances into ultrathin films, paving the way to possibly make power sources with more flexible structures.
Sangoro has said it could be four to five years before any such product is brought to market.
Sangoro joined UT in 2013 after working at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
