Battery science is famous for its constant search for new materials. In Accordance with the materials used to make a battery, one can manipulate it to have better capacity and safety. In this regard, a new material that is of importance is organic polymer lignin. This is a compound present in the cell wall of the plant, which makes them rigid. It is an excellent material to be utilized as it is found in abundance and can be acquired for a cheap amount.
Recently, a team was able to create battery electrolytes using organic polymer lignin. Lignin has a chemical structure containing high concentrations of derivatives due to a compound named benzene, which makes lignin a strong material. This is a significant development for Lignin Market as the usage of this material in batteries would make batteries robust and safe while also giving them the ability to function at room temperature.
In order to create this new type of solid electrolyte, the team mixed together synthetic polymer polyethene glycol and lignin. Electrolytes refer to those battery parts that separate the negative and positive terminals in a battery. They are responsible for conducting ions that match the flow of electrons going from the negative terminal to the positive one and through the thing that battery is supposed to power.
Electrolytes can both be in a liquid or solid form and have their own special strengths and weaknesses. Liquid electrolytes are better at conducting ions, whereas solid electrolytes are usually used as they are strong and safe. They can also be used at a higher temperature when compared to liquid electrolytes.
Polythene glycol is usually a good candidate for solid electrolytes as it has electrochemical stability; however, it doesn’t conduct well at room temperature. This inability limits batteries’ use when this material is used in them, and they want to power something or charge anything rapidly. That is why lignin is a good option. It provides a better range of temperatures at which solid electrolyte battery is practicable and makes batteries more sustainable. Lingin is easy to acquire. About 50 million tons of the material is produced globally every year, and most of that comes through waste products from the paper industry. Unlike most biomass products, lignin is not a product that can otherwise be used to feed humans and so is further agreeable to be used in this way.
Lignin use may grow, and so might its production with this newfound use of the material. Moreover, researchers may come to find it beneficial for other applications in the coming future as well.