Sao Paulo University replaces the organic solvent of the battery with a water-soluble salt electrolyte, reducing battery costs

Institute of Chemistry, Sao Paulo University, Brazil (the University of S?o Paulo's Chemistry Institute, IQ-USP) researchers found that organic solvents in automotive batteries and other electrochemical devices can be replaced with high concentrations of an aqueous electrolyte, namely a water-soluble salt electrolyte, and that such electrolyte has the advantages of low cost and non-toxicity.

The researchers said: " Water-soluble salt electrolyte refers to a very small amount of water and a high concentration of salt solution, the amount of water is just able to dissolve ions, contribute to the formation of the solvent.Unlike conventional solutions, the system does not free contain free water."Furthermore, only a salt molecule composed of a large anion with a small cation can be dissolved.For example, lithium ditrifluoromethane sulfonimide (CF3SO2NLiSO2CF3), sodium chloride, or table salt are not used because of their similar cations and anion sizes.

With the absence of free water in this high concentration, electrolysis into hydrogen and oxygen becomes more difficult, and the electrochemical stability of the solution remains high, although the system does not contain water.

In conclusion, such innovative technology based on high-concentration water-soluble salt solution has more obvious advantages over traditional techniques to dissolve salt into organic compounds, although the application of water-soluble salt electrolyte technology also faces challenges.

First, the solution contains little water, so it is very hygroscopic and can absorb water in the air, thus changing the water content.Secondly, this aqueous solution with a very high concentration is highly corrosive.

In fact, organic solvents also absorb water in the environment, which is one reason why traditional batteries must have a barrier.Corrosiveness is a major drawback of this solution, because organic solvents in lithium batteries, for a large part, do not attack the only metal component of the battery.

However, the researchers say that this drawback of a water-soluble electrolyte should not be overestimated, after all, corrosion has been a major problem for decades.Now that researchers know how to improve hubs and make some adjustments, it will not be difficult to overcome corrosion in water batteries.

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