A lithium battery that will not explode

Scientists unveiled a safe and reliable lithium-ion battery, that will not explode.

Researchers at Stanford University developed the first lithium-ion battery, that shuts down before overheating, then restarts again when the temperature cools.

Above image: The thin polyethylene film is embedded with spiky nanoparticles of graphene-coated nickel.

The new technology could prevent the kind of fires that have prompted recalls and bans on a wide range of battery-powered devices, from recliners and computers to navigation systems and hoverboards.

In this video, Professor Zhenan Bao explains how this promising technique works.

Zheng Chen, lead author of the study, said:

“We attached the polyethylene film to one of the battery electrodes so that an electric current could flow through it. To conduct electricity, the spiky particles have to physically touch one another. But during thermal expansion, polyethylene stretches. That causes the particles to spread apart, making the film nonconductive so that electricity can no longer flow through the battery.”