MINING IN FOCUS
MINING IN FOCUS
Cryo-microscopy performed in the lab of Lena Kourkoutis, assistant
professor of applied and engineering physics, revealed that the
technique produced dendrite-free batteries. Zhengyuan Tu, a doctoral
student who led the research, says the interface offers several advantages
beyond simply stabilising the battery.
“The target was to find a facile process to not only protect the pristine
anodes, but to also be able to store additional energy,” says Tu. “Tin and
other elements have long been exciting candidates for energy storage
by readily forming alloys with lithium, so this led us to the concept that
a tin interface on lithium would not only offer protection, but added
electrochemical activity.”
Prolonging battery life
Unlike other artificial interface materials, tin is easier to apply during
the manufacturing process because it requires a minimal amount of
specialised equipment and processing, according to Tu.
Testing of the tin interface on a lithium anode revealed a battery life cycle
of more than 500 hours at a current density of 3 milliamperes per square
centimeter. The test was repeated without the protective interface and
the battery lasted just 55 hours.
The research team reported that the source of the improvements was
the ability of lithium to rapidly alloy with tin, which facilitated more
uniform lithium deposition when the anode was recharged. Dendrite-
Alphamin’s Bisie tin project in the DRC is coming online later this year.
40
African Mining October 2019
40
African Mining October 2019
www. africanmining.co.za