Vietnamese-American graduate student invents lifetime lithium battery.

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine (UIC) have invented a lithium battery with a core made of nanofibers that can be recharged hundreds of thousands of times.

This is a huge leap forward in technology, creating the foundation for us to truly create batteries that can last for hundreds or even thousands of years. They will also help extend the battery life of computers, smartphones, cars, and spacecraft equipment.

The person behind this revolutionary discovery in battery technology is Mya Le Thai, a Vietnamese-born doctoral student preparing to earn her PhD at UCI.

Scientists have long sought to apply nanowires to battery manufacturing. A nanowire can be thousands of times thinner than a human hair, has very high conductivity, and a large surface area that facilitates the storage and transfer of electrons.

However, these nanofibers are extremely fragile and unsuitable for use in repeatedly charging and discharging batteries. When used to manufacture a conventional lithium-ion battery, the nanofibers swell, become more brittle, and begin to crack.

UCI researchers solved this problem by coating a nanowire made from gold molecules with a manganese dioxide shell. These were then immersed in a Plexiglass gel electrolyte. This combination made the nanowires inside significantly more durable.

The research team leader, Dr. Mya Le Thai, tested this type of battery by charging and discharging it up to 200,000 times over three months without detecting any changes in capacity, power, or the nanowires.

Mye Le Thai and a lithium battery made from nanoparticles. (Image source: UIC).

This discovery happened quite by accident. While Mya was experimenting with some chemical compounds, she coated the entire nanowire with a very thin layer of gel. And from then on, Mya began to notice something unusual about the battery.

According to Reginald Penner, Head of Chemistry at UCI, in her experiments, Mya Le Thai recharged the nanofiber structure she created hundreds of thousands of times. Penner said that normally, this type of fiber only needs about 6,000-7,000 recharge cycles before it breaks down.

Researchers believe that the malleable metal oxides have made the nanofibers more flexible and resistant to fracture.

"The manganese dioxide-coated electrodes hold their shape much better, making them a more reliable option," said Mya Le Thai. "This research demonstrates that a battery based on nanowire electrodes can have a long lifespan, and we can actually create batteries like this."

This research was conducted in collaboration with the University of Maryland and with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Mya Le Thai studied nanotechnology during her undergraduate program at UCLA. She then served as chief adjunct professor at UCI for over two years.

In 2015, she moved to Washington DC to work at the Center for Advanced Energy Research of the U.S. Department of Energy, before returning to UCI to take on several organizational roles for the university's nanotechnology research teams.

Mya Le Thai is currently pursuing a PhD in Physical Chemistry at UCI.

According to Khoahoc.tv