What are batteries made of? Check out this article and find out what exactly batteries are made of and how the materials work together to make batteries work.
Batteries have been around for much longer than most people realize. The earliest battery traces all the way back to 200 BC Iraq, with many examples appearing just a few hundred years ago. Now, we use all types of batteries to fuel our world.
Batteries keep our most vital technologies alive, from phones to electric vehicles. They serve as battery energy storage backups to keep us running in emergency situations. Yet for something so crucial to our species' everyday function, what are batteries made of?
Battery options from lithium-ion to lead acid use similar processes, but very different materials. Join us as we discuss the components of your batteries, and how they work.
No one knows who made the Baghdad battery, or what its purpose was. But we do know who invented the first true battery: Alessandro Volta.
Volta's design principle is one that holds up to this very day, albeit in a less efficient form. He had a series of copper and zinc discs stacked together and soaked in a saltwater solution. This was able to produce a steady, consistent flow of electricity rather than a short burst.
Volta created this design all the way back in 1799. But the general principle still works well to this day. Even though batteries can use a wide variety of components, they all contain the following:
To produce a lot of electricity and maximize space, batteries are divided up into cells. Each individual cell has its own electrolyte, cathode, anode, and separator. These components create a chemical reaction that results in positively charged ions.
The electrolyte is the solution that allows positively and negatively charged ions to travel through a battery cell. Without the electrolyte, the battery could not charge or discharge. This liquid solution may consist of things like organic solvents and lithium salts.
Modern batteries may begin to use a solid electrolyte. This is known as a solid-state battery. This technology may improve battery capacity for home energy storage, electric cars, and other vital technologies.
Here are some common materials that you can use for electrolytes:
As mentioned, the most common materials are some form of lithium salts or solvents. Lead acid is another very common type, particularly for industrial and vehicle batteries.
The anode is one of two metal components inside a battery. This is where the chemical reaction for a battery begins. The electrolyte begins to oxide the anode.
This negative electrode sends these positively charged ions through the electrolyte to the cathode. Like with the electrolyte, researchers are looking for more potent and efficient anodes. Solid-state batteries might begin to make use of silicon or lithium anodes.
Here are some common anode materials:
Positively charged ions arrive from the anode through the electrolyte and separator to the cathode. Without the cathode, they would remain with the anode. The free movement through the electrolyte is what actually creates the charge in the battery.
A cathode cannot be the same material as an anode; otherwise, this movement would not happen. Cathodes, therefore, use an entirely different material, one that creates this charge or discharge.
Here are the materials you will likely see in cathodes:
In Volta's battery, the separator was simply cardboard. But these days, a separator is a thin, permeable membrane. Common materials for membranes include the following:
Separators are necessary. Otherwise, there would be no barrier between the anode and the cathode. This would likely result in a short circuit and a non-functioning battery.
The principle that makes batteries work allows them to function with a wide variety of materials. The Baghdad battery that we mentioned earlier used wine or vinegar with an iron metal rod. Modern batteries use a chemical electrolyte solution to separate metal cathodes and anodes.
Here is a brief list of the types of batteries we use:
As we've said before, the overall design of batteries has not changed in hundreds of years. The only thing that has changed is their efficiency, size, and overall output.
The 3,000-5,000 mH battery inside your cell phone has more power than a much larger Volta battery, and it fits inside your pocket. Batteries have become incredibly dense. A single battery may contain dozens of tiny cells, wired in parallel to produce a charge.
Take a look at a few different battery types so you're prepared for your next investor meeting.
Up until very recently, all batteries were single-use batteries. It was only in the past 40 years or so that rechargeable batteries began to appear on the consumer market.
Single-use batteries only move in one direction: positively charged ions go from anode to cathode. As long as they are in movement, then they generate electricity. Once this movement stops, the battery is discharged and no longer has capacity.
The most common type of single-use battery is a single-cell AA or AAA battery. These batteries can last for years and are excellent for devices that only need low power. For example, a television remote control or a smoke detector.
These batteries tend to come in that cylinder form we are most used to seeing in commercials. However, they may also appear as flat plates about the size of a nickel or even smaller. These batteries are excellent for extremely low-power solutions, such as a computer's clock.
Rechargeable batteries are now the norm for most devices. You see them in cellphones, tablets, laptops, and wireless earbuds. They can often sustain a much higher voltage output for longer periods of time.
The only difference between a single-use battery and a rechargeable battery is that the process can be reversed. When you plug in a rechargeable battery, it reverses the chemical reaction. Ions travel in the opposite direction from the cathode to the anode.
This effectively "resets" the battery to its initial state. Now, the process can begin anew and provide a new charge.
However, there is one considerable drawback to rechargeable batteries: they lose their capacity over time. Batteries age chemically and every charge reduces their overall potential. After hundreds of charge cycles, the battery loses most of its capacity and eventually will stop charging.
The average lithium-ion battery should only last about 300 charge cycles. This is why your old phones and laptops need a battery replacement every few years.
Sometimes, batteries need to provide a burst of high-voltage electricity. This is usually for industrial requirements, such as cars and forklifts. These are typically lead acid batteries, and appear in everything from electric scooters to generators.
Lithium-ion batteries can power electric vehicles, but lead acid batteries are still essential. They power big industrial equipment such as tractors and cranes. They allow these machines to start up their gas-powered engines and keep running uninterrupted.
As mentioned in other sections, a battery is using a chemical reaction to create electricity. This chemical reaction is very reliable, and very rarely results in malfunction or failure. However, there are some noteworthy limitations to modern-day batteries.
Batteries do not last forever, especially lithium-ion batteries. Chemical degradation results in batteries with a weak charge capacity that becomes insufficient for your needs.
This doesn't just mean that batteries will eventually fail. It's problematic because they require rare earth materials such as cobalt to function. These materials will eventually deplete, forcing us to go without or create new solutions.
Further, the extraction methods for many of these materials involve questionable business practices. Much of the cobalt that we use originates from poor African nations that make use of slave labor. Many question the ethics of using such batteries.
Particularly with lithium-ion batteries, there is a risk of fire. When overheating or being punctured, lithium-ion batteries may burst into flames or explode. This happens a lot with electric vehicles, which may become volatile after a collision.
Battery fires are intense and can burn for hours. This makes them potentially life-threatening. Batteries need to be used with care, never overcharged, and used in the right temperature conditions.
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