Lithium Ion batteries are common in home electronics. Although they are the most common type of rechargeable batteries used in portable electronics. In August 2016, Samsung announced the recall of all its newly issued Galaxy Note 7 smartphones. But this smartphone exploded on their users. This situation becomes more serious that U.S government issued an emergency order banning all Galaxy Note7 smartphone devices in the US.
Generally, the flammable liquid electrolytes used in lithium-ion batteries. The liquid electrolytes that shuttle lithium ions back and forth between the battery’s positive and negative electrodes can catch fire if the battery overheats or is short-circuited.
Various scientists have searched for a safe alternative to this problem. Now, scientists from Standford University have identified nearly two-dozen solid electrolytes to replace liquid electrolytes used in lithium ion batteries. Researchers hope that it could someday replace the volatile liquids used in smartphones, laptops, and other electronic devices.
The results, based on techniques adapted from artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
Lead researcher Austin Sendek said, “The main advantage of solid electrolytes is stability. Solids are far less likely to blow up or vaporize than organic solvents. They’re also much more rigid and would make the battery structurally stronger.”
Scientists used AIÂ to build predictive models from existing experimental data.
Sendek said, “The number of known lithium-containing compounds is in the tens of thousands, the vast majority of which are untested. Some of them may be excellent conductors. We developed a computational model that learns from the limited data we already have. It then allows us to screen potential candidates from a massive database of materials about a million times faster than current screening methods.”
Scientists gather all known scientific data about solid compounds that contain lithium. It took almost more than two years for analyzing. The model used specific criteria to show some features like stability, cost, abundance and its ability to conduct lithium ions.
Sendek said, “We screened more than 12,000 lithium-containing compounds and ended up with 21 promising solid electrolytes. It only took a few minutes to do the screening. The vast majority of my time was actually gathering and curating all the data.“