Researchers discover new cathode material with high discharge capacity for magnesium rechargeable batteries

02/21/2023 / By Belle Carter

A study conducted by a research team from the Tokyo University of Science found a new cathode material with higher energy density for magnesium batteries, a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries.

In a paper published in the Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, the researchers focused on how to improve the performance of cathode materials based on the magnesium-vanadium system. The team explained that they worked with the Mg1.33V1.67O4 system, but substituted some amount of vanadium – a hard, silvery-gray and malleable transition metal – with another transition metal, manganese.

Accordingly, the researchers studied the composition, crystal structure, electron distribution and particle morphologies of the compounds using X-ray diffraction and absorption, as well as transmission electron microscopy. The analyses showed that Mg1.33V1.67?xMnxO4 has a spinel structure with a remarkably uniform composition.

They also observed a high discharge capacity of these cathode materials. “It appears that the particularly stable crystal structure along with a large amount of charge compensation by vanadium leads to the superior charge/discharge properties we observed for Mg1.33V1.57Mn0.1O4,” lead researcher Yasushi Idemoto said in a media statement, explaining that Mg1.33V1.57Mn0.1O4 could be a good candidate cathode material for magnesium rechargeable batteries.

As per Idemoto, through further research and development, magnesium batteries could surpass lithium-ion batteries because the former has a higher energy density.

Magnesium is considered a promising candidate for rechargeable batteries because the metal is safer for battery chemistries than lithium and is more abundant.

Woman in critical condition as lithium-ion batteries catch fire

Lithium-ion batteries can be a fire hazard. A 67-year-old woman is in critical condition after an intense fire in Brooklyn on Feb. 14. The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) reported that the woman was trapped at the top floor of an apartment building.

FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said they found a total of 50 e-bike batteries, also known as lithium-ion batteries, inside the home after the fire. A resident was allegedly running a battery repair operation, which they said is a major hazard.

“There were also many that were charging at the time that nobody was watching them charge, so they had charged them overnight,” Chief Fire Marshal Daniel Flynn said. CBS News wrote that experts advised never try to repair batteries, never use a refurbished battery and never charge your batteries overnight.

According to the fire department chief, the lithium-ion batteries burst into flames when they catch fire. The FDNY noted that such batteries caused 220 fires in 2022 and killed six people. The latest one is already the 24th caused by the batteries so far this year. (Related: Hurricane Ian exposes EV weakness: Lithium batteries are prone to catching fire.)

“It seems like the number is doubling year by year,” Flynn said.

Kavanagh already wrote to the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission urging it to seize more substandard batteries at ports, ban “universal” battery chargers and push e-bike and scooter companies to make their devices work only with approved batteries.

“The FDNY is on the front lines of this fight against deadly fires involving batteries … and we are grateful for every tool available to help,” she wrote.

The recent fires posed serious threats to the delivery people using electric vehicles, people using battery-powered devices in houses and apartments and firefighters themselves. In one incident last year, FDNY firefighters had to use ropes hanging out of the 20th floor of a building to save people trapped by a blaze.

NBC News reported earlier this month that the rapidly expanding use of lithium-ion batteries is posing new challenges for firefighters across the country. “When the batteries fail or overheat, they release flammable, toxic gases that can spark a fast-spreading fire that is extremely difficult to extinguish,” it said.

“The source of the gases that are creating the flames is confined within a cell battery that will not allow water in,” said Ofodike Ezekoye, a fire scientist and a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. “When firefighters are responding to these types of incidents, it takes a lot longer to be able to control the fire because it requires so much more water.”

Watch the video below where a lithium battery caught fire during a commercial flight earlier this year.

This video is from TestimonyOfTheTwoWitnesses.com channel on Brighteon.com.