London: Scientists have developed a new battery made with aluminium-filled capsules that could charge your cellphone in six minutes. The battery has four times the capacity of current lithium ion batteries and degrades less over time. It uses nanoparticles with a shell of titanium dioxide wrapped around aluminium, which acts as the battery's negative electrode. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Tsinghua University in Beijing found that the metal could expand and shrink freely by encasing the aluminium inside a shell, 'The Times' reported. The research overcomes previous problems experienced using aluminium in rechargeable lithium ion batteries. Aluminium is a high-capacity material but it can double in volume and shrink again as it is charged and discharged. The repeated shedding and reforming of the layer consumes lithium and reduces the battery's capacity. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications. — PTI. Source: Article
