Boron carbide is expected to be used in air battery catalyst
According to the “Nihon Keizai Shimbun” report on April 17, the ultimate storage battery that uses air to generate electricity is expected to appear in the near future. It is also called an air battery. An air battery is a kind of chemical battery. Its construction principle is similar to that of a dry battery. The difference is that its oxidant is taken from the oxygen in the air. This battery does not require traditional electrodes, and its weight is the same as that of an existing lithium battery. one-fifth of.
As we all know, lithium-ion batteries are widely used in mobile phones and notebook computers, etc., and are already the ideal choice for the next generation of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. It has a higher density and more power than other car batteries, but it is also more expensive, limited by the battery capacity, and the driving distance after charging is still not far enough. Therefore, metal lithium-air batteries, whose energy density is much higher than that of lithium-ion batteries in theory, have attracted much attention.
The air battery boldly changes the structure, replaces the positive electrode with oxygen absorbed from the air, and combines it with an electrode made of lithium metal. The outside air is the material of the battery. Without the positive electrode, lithium metal can occupy most of the battery body. The advantage of this is that the battery is not only light in weight, but also has a high lithium content, which can increase the storage capacity.
In an air battery, the carbon material supporting the catalyst is prone to corrosion at high potential, causing the catalyst to fall off from the surface of the substrate and aggregate, reducing the catalytic activity. In this case, it is necessary to choose a more stable catalyst substrate. Boron carbide (B4C) has the characteristics of excellent acid and alkali corrosion resistance, low density, and outstanding mechanical properties. According to relevant research reports, when the catalyst is loaded on B4C, the activity will be higher. Therefore, boron carbide is expected to be used as a catalyst support for air batteries.