MIT Mobility Initiative’s Post

The MIT Mobility Initiative (MMI) is delighted to announce the twelfth episode of the MIT Mobility Forum Fall 2024 hosted by Prof. Jinhua Zhao. Forum Title: Sustainable Batteries for Mobile Applications Speaker: Mircea Dinca, W. M. Keck Professor of Energy, MIT Eliminating the use of critical transition metals in Li-ion battery cathodes is a key challenge for electrifying the transportation sector, especially in consumer vehicles. Vast resources are expended for replacing cobalt or minimizing the nickel content in commercial batteries, yet all rely on controlled doping of other elements (e.g. Mo, Mg, Ti, Mn, Nb) into ternary oxides to balance energy, power, safety, and cycling lives of such cathodes. An alternative strategy is to completely move away from inorganic oxides and use redox active organic materials, composed of just carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, as cathodes. Despite the longstanding interest in developing organic cathodes, they generally perform poorly under practical conditions due to their relatively high solubility in battery electrolytes, which saps their cycle life, and low intrinsic electrical conductivity, which imposes needs for large amounts of additives and binders. Here, we will describe the use of TAQ, a new organic molecule that is a competitive cathode for Li-ion batteries. Made from just C, N, O, and H has higher energy density than incumbent commercial metal oxides at any charge-discharge rate, and maintains high capacity over thousands of cycles. Time-allowing, we will discuss environmental implications of transitioning from inorganic cathodes to organic materials. Fridays 12:00-13:00 ET, Aug 30 - Dec 13, 2024 The MIT Mobility Forum is open to the public. Please register here - https://lnkd.in/gGtR3gG7

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