Electric Vehicle Batteries Could Get Big Boost With New Polymer Coating

Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ÜBerkeley Lab) have developed a conductive polymer coating - called HOS-PFM - that could enable longer lasting, more powerful lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. "The advance opens up a new approach to developing EV batteries that are more affordable and easy to manufacture,” said Gao Liu, a senior scientist in Berkeley Lab's Energy Technologies Area who led the development of the material. The HOS-PFM coating conducts both electrons and ions at the same time. This ensures battery stability and high charge/discharge rates while enhancing battery life. The coating also shows promise as a battery adhesive that could extend the lifetime of a lithium-ion battery from an average of 10 years to about 15 years, Liu added. To demonstrate HOS-PFM's superior conductive and adhesive properties, Liu and his team coated aluminum and silicon electrodes with HOS-PFM, and tested their performance in a lithium-ion battery setup. Silicon and aluminum are promising electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries because of their potentially high energy storage capacity and lightweight profiles.