Samsung develops tech to double battery capacity

Battery woes have forever troubled smartphone users and manufacturers are always trying hard to introduce new battery features to keep devices running for long. Apple introduced Low Power Mode for iOS 9, fast charging batteries to increase battery life. Also mobile manufacturers have introduced phones with dual-battery setup - Gionee Marathon M5 and Innos D6000.

Now, Samsung is also exploring new ways to improve battery life in smartphones. Researchers at Samsung announced that they are working on a new lithium-ion battery technology that promises to double the capacity of lithium batteries used to power smartphone or other devices.

The new technology uses silicon anode that packs in more capacity than a standard battery and grow layers of graphene on top of silicon surface to improve the density and longevity. The resulting battery lasts up to 1.5-1.8 times longer than a standard battery.

Nature.com reveals some of the details of the discovery: "The graphene layers anchored onto the silicon surface accommodate the volume expansion of silicon via a sliding process between adjacent graphene layers. When paired with a commercial lithium cobalt oxide cathode, the silicon carbide-free graphene coating allows the full cell to reach volumetric energy densities of 972 and 700 Wh l−1 at first and 200th cycle, respectively, 1.8 and 1.5 times higher than those of current commercial lithium-ion batteries."

The only flaw with Silicon is shortening of the battery life between repeated charging and discharging. This will adversely affect the performance of devices.

Samsung expects that the new tech could bring a significant change to both mobile devices and the electronic car industry.

The time has come for a breakthrough in battery technology, since Lithium ion has been used since the early 90's (first introduced by Sony). However like any innovation, this technology will also take time to arrive in future devices. According to industry watcher, it will take up to two to three years for commercialization.

Via : Android Authority