When temperatures drop below freezing, cellphones require regular charging, and electric vehicles have lower ranges. This is because the anodes in their lithium-ion batteries become sluggish, retaining less charge and discharging energy more quickly.
![Lithium Batteries](https://www.cleanfuture.co.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/images_large_oc2c00411_0006.jpeg)
When temperatures are low enough, they can fail to transmit any charge, which is why using these batteries in space travel is problematic. In a new study Researchers replaced the standard graphite anode in a lithium-ion battery with a rough carbon-based material that maintains its rechargeable storage capacity down to -31°F to boost electrical performance in extreme cold.
The novel material was created by heating a cobalt-containing zeolite imidazolate framework (ZIF-67) at high temperatures.
![](https://www.cleanfuture.co.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/images_large_oc2c00411_0001-1024x887.jpeg)
The 12-sided carbon nanospheres that resulted have rough surfaces that displayed outstanding electrical charge transport abilities. The scientists next examined the material’s electrical performance as an anode in a coin-shaped battery, with lithium metal as the cathode.
At temperatures ranging from 77°F to -4°F, the anode displayed steady charging and discharging and maintained 85.9 percent of the room temperature energy storage capacity slightly below freezing.
![](https://www.cleanfuture.co.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Coin-cells.jpg)
When the researchers reduced the air temperature to -31°F, the anode formed of rough nanospheres remained rechargeable and discharged approximately 100 percent of the charge deposited into the battery during discharge. These findings suggest that Li-ion batteries may now be used at extremely low temperatures.
Reference- ACS Central Science Story, Popular Science Clean Technica, Futurism, Science Direct