A flexible lithium-ion battery built to operate under extreme conditions—including cutting, submersion, and simulated ballistic impact—can now add incombustible to its résumé, researchers say.
Current Li-ion batteries are susceptible to catastrophic fire and explosion incidents—most of which arrive without any discernible warning—because they are built with flammable and combustible materials.
In research published in the journal Chemical Communications, researchers detail their latest discovery: a new class of “water-in-salt” and “water-in-bisalt” electrolytes—referred to as WiS and WiBS, respectively—that, when incorporated in a polymer matrix, reduces water activity and elevates the battery’s energy capabilities and life cycle while ridding it of the flammable, toxic, and highly reactive solvents present in current Li-ion batteries…
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