Genius new material could make your iPhone battery ‘last YEARS longer’

A NEW type of battery material may help to extend the longevity of your smartphone device, a study finds. The study, conducted by researchers from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), was published in the journal ACS Applied Energy Material. Mobile devices have come a long way over the last 20 years, […]

A NEW type of battery material may help to extend the longevity of your smartphone device, a study finds.

The study, conducted by researchers from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), was published in the journal ACS Applied Energy Material.

Mobile devices have come a long way over the last 20 years, and so have their batteries.

Today, smartphone devices use lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, which are lighter, smaller, and more powerful than predecessors like Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH).

Still, Li-ion batteries are not without their faults – one common problem is that they quickly degrade after about a year or so of usage, requiring more charges for your smartphone device.

This happens because the battery’s binding agent known as poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) that connects graphite to the anode.

PVDF is non-conducting in nature and has poor binding capabilities which ultimately deplete lithium-ion batteries’ durability.

However, JAIST has developed a new material as an alternative to PVDF, which can extend the life of your phone’s lithium-ion battery by several years.

The material is a copolymer called bis-imino-acenaphthenequinone-paraphenylene, designated BP for short.

BP outperforms PVDF for several reasons, including that it is more electrically conductive within the battery’s electrode, and has binding properties that better attach it to graphite.

The team of researchers said that BP displayed “excellent performance” and is able to maintain 95 percent retention capacity after more than 1,700 charging cycles. 

For context, a typical PVDF battery begins degrading after 500 charges and only retains about 65 percent of its starting capacity.

The material could prove to be revolutionary for battery-powered devices such as laptops, tablets, and, perhaps even electric cars.

Professor Noriyoshi Matsumi, who led the study, states: “The realization of durable batteries will help in the development of more reliable products for long-term use. This will encourage consumers to purchase more expensive battery-based assets like electric vehicles, which will be used for many years.”