Revolutionary self-assembling material points towards a revelation in recyclable electric vehicle batteries.

A research team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has made a breakthrough in battery technology with the development of a new self-assembling material that can quickly disintegrate in a simple organic liquid, facilitating easier recycling.

The material, developed by the Solid State Ionics Group at the University of Cambridge, is a proof of concept demonstrating a recycle-first approach. The researchers used a class of molecules named aramid amphiphiles (AAs) for the electrolyte, which self-assemble in water to form nanoribbons with ion-conducting surfaces.

The new material can work as the electrolyte in a functioning, solid-state battery cell and revert back to its original molecular components in minutes. This feature offers an alternative to shredding EV batteries, as it accelerates the recycling process by disassembling the entire battery when the electrolyte returns to its original form.

The electrolyte holds the two battery electrodes together and provides the lithium-ion pathways. In this study, the researchers constructed a solid-state battery cell using lithium iron phosphate for the cathode and lithium titanium oxide as the anode. The electrolyte layer can fall off naturally during recycling, allowing for separate recycling of the electrodes.

The team, including Yukio Cho PhD '23, Cole Fincher, Ty Christoff-Tempesta PhD '22, Kyocera Professor of Ceramics Yet-Ming Chiang, Visiting Associate Professor Julia Ortony, Xiaobing Zuo, and Guillaume Lamour, tested the material's strength and toughness. They found it could endure the stresses associated with making and running the battery.

However, the nanoribbons' movement of lithium ions was limited during fast bouts of charging and discharging, hampering its performance compared to today's gold-standard commercial batteries. The researchers are exploring ways to integrate these materials into existing battery designs and new battery chemistries to optimize their performance.

The work was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy. The approach could help reshore lithium supplies by reusing materials from batteries already in the U.S. Convincing existing vendors to integrate new materials may be challenging, but it could be easier with new battery materials in the future.

The work was performed, in part, using the MIT.nano Characterization facilities. The researchers aim to design batteries for recyclability from the beginning, focusing on easily recyclable materials and figuring out how to make them battery-compatible. This innovative development in battery technology could pave the way for more sustainable and recyclable battery solutions in the future.