Samsung knows battery life is an important smartphone feature, and now the South Korean tech giant wants to increase the overall battery life on its phones without increasing phone size. The company’s researchers are working on a lithium-ion battery technology with power packs to last longer.
A look at Samsung’s battery technologies
These power packs use silicon anode with layers of graphene on top to improve density and longevity. Unfortunately, the new batteries are in the research project phase and it could take years before Samsung actually uses the technology in the real world. This technology could eventually extend to other products including tablets, laptops, etc.
Nature Communications published a study about battery technologies. The journal offered more details on the technology:
“Here we report direct graphene growth over silicon nanoparticles without silicon carbide formation. The graphene layers anchored onto the silicon surface accommodate the volume expansion of silicon via a sliding process between adjacent graphene layers. When paired with a commercial lithium cobalt oxide cathode, the silicon carbide-free graphene coating allows the full cell to reach volumetric energy densities of 972 and 700 Wh l-1 at first and 200th cycle, respectively, 1.8 and 1.5 times higher than those of current commercial lithium-ion batteries.”
Better battery life
This isn’t the first time scientists have tried to redesign a better battery. Back in 2014, U.S. scientists created a smart lithium ion battery that could alert users of possible overheating. The new technology was designed for lithium-ion batteries used in smartphones and other forms of mobile technology.
Battery life is an important feature for all mobile products as tech consumers demand products that last at least several hours on a single charge. Samsung knows what consumers want. The company admits technologies still weaken the battery competitiveness in volumetric energy density as well as cycle life thanks to additional discharge cycles.
