I-Corps: Silicon(Si)-based Rechargeable Batteries

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发基于硅（Si）的可充电电池，该电池可以同时提供超快充电能力、高比能和长循环寿命。这种可充电电池将允许手机在20分钟内充满电（而不是目前市场上可用的电池技术提供的2小时），同时在需要充电之前将使用时间延长至3天（而不是目前技术的2天）。这些超快充电和高能电池也可以为其他消费产品找到市场，如相机、笔记本电脑、无人机、电动工具、仓库电动叉车、军用设备等，为消费者提高工作效率和生活质量。此外，利用硅基高能电池可以将电动汽车电池组的成本和重量降低60%。这些进步将为电动汽车的广泛市场渗透铺平道路，并支持一种更环保的可持续交通方式。I-Corps项目采用一种新颖、简单、低成本的制造方法，合成了一种新型硅基阳极粉末，具有超快充电能力、高比容量和长循环寿命的非凡性能。这种新的硅基阳极被称为Si@void@C，因为它同时包含三个不同的特征：(i)纳米结构的硅构建块，（ii）纳米结构硅核外的导电碳壳，以及（iii）硅核内的工程空隙空间。这三个特性共同提供了锂离子电池急需的特性：超快充电能力、高比能量和长循环寿命。基于这些独特的特性，硅基可充电电池被设计成两大类，一类是“超快充电电池”，充电时间缩短到20分钟，同时仍然允许手机使用3天，另一类是“高能电池”，充电时间需要2小时，但允许用户每6天充电一次。此外，“高能电池”可以使电动汽车的电池组成本降低60%，消除了消费者接受的一个关键障碍。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to develop silicon(Si)-based rechargeable batteries that can simultaneously provide ultrafast charging capability, high specific energy and long-lasting cycle life. Such rechargeable batteries will allow cell phones to be charged to their full capacity within 20 min (rather than 2 hours offered by the current battery technology available in the market) while extending the usage time to 3 days (rather than 2 days of current technology) before recharge is needed. These ultrafast charging and high energy batteries can also find a market for other consumer products, such as cameras, laptops, drones, power tools, electric forklifts in warehouses, and military devices, to improve work productivity and life quality for consumers. Furthermore, Si-based high energy batteries can be utilized to reduce the cost and weight of electric vehicle battery packs by 60%. These advancements will pave the way for broad market penetration of electric vehicles and support a more environmentally sustainable mode of transportation. This I-Corps project employs a novel, simple and low-cost manufacturing method that can synthesize a new type of Si-based anode powder which exhibits unusual properties with ultrafast charging capability, high specific capacity and long-lasting cycle life. This new Si-based anode is termed as Si@void@C because it contains three distinct features simultaneously: (i) nanostructured Si building blocks, (ii) a conductive carbon shell outside the nanostructured Si core, and (iii) engineered void space inside the Si core. Together these three features offer the much-needed properties for Li-ion batteries: ultrafast charging capability, high specific energy and long-lasting cycle life. Based on these unique properties, the Si-based rechargeable batteries are designed in two general categories, one being "ultrafast charging batteries" that can shorten the charging time to 20 min while still allowing cell phones to be used for 3 days before re-charge and the other being "high energy batteries" which require 2 hours charging time, but allow users to recharge batteries every 6 days. Furthermore, "high energy batteries" can enable a reduction in the cost of the battery packs by 60% for electric vehicles, removing a critical barrier to consumer acceptance.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.