The change may not be apparent, it may take weeks to be noticed. The newly charged lithium-ion AA batteries for the wireless kitty fountain last for two days. At one instance, they lasted a week or more. If charged for one more day, they last one day. To drain out soon.
This leaves individuals to be forgiven if the doubt of charging the battery arises.
It is the battery that do not last forever, not even the supposedly long-lasting rechargeable ones such as AAA or AA bought at the store, or batteries used in wireless earbuds, cellphones, or cars. Batteries degrade.
A study published in Science investigates the factors that push a battery’s lifespan and factors that account for change over a period in fast-charging environments. The study finds battery degeneration to be associated with properties of individual electrode matter, but after several charging cycles, the manner in which the particles are put together matter more.
The design and manufacture of battery electrodes to obtain a long life for batteries is explained in the study. The research team is working to redesign battery electrodes with the objective to fabricate electrode frameworks that provide fast-charging capabilities, and last longer at a fraction of cost incurred today and are environment friendly as well.
In the new design, if electrode architecture allows for each individual particle to respond quickly to electrical signals, this will result into a good toolbox to charge batteries. This builds up the excitement to implement the understanding of low-cost, next-generation, fast-charging batteries.
The study carried out is a joint effort of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy along with European Synchrotron Radiation Facility and Purdue University.
