In the A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute, diamonds are not just for jewelry and drill bits.
According to Drexel University professor Yury Gogotsi and his team of researchers, diamonds — nanodiamonds, specifically — might just be the key to making certain types of batteries more energy efficient.
When a person thinks of rechargeable batteries, they are likely picturing lithium ion batteries, which power most portable devices such as cell phones and laptops. They generate energy by transferring ions of a lightweight metal called lithium back and forth between the two ends, or electrodes, of the battery. One of these electrodes is made of a carbon-based compound called graphite, which serves as a host for the lithium. Read the full article here.
