Cheaper and Better Batteries are possible, with Wax and Soap...

A little wax and soap could help build electrodes for cheaper and better lithium ion batteries, say scientists. 

A team at the US Department of Energy has claimed the one-step method will allow battery developers to explore lower -priced alternatives to the lithium ion-metal oxide batteries currently on the market, the 'Nano Letters' journal reported. 

"Paraffin provides a medium in which to grow good electrode materials. This method will help researchers investigate cathode materials based on cheaper transition metals like manganese or iron," said team leader Daiwon Choi. 

Consumers use long-lasting rechargeable lithium ion batteries in everything from cell phones to the latest portable gadget. Some carmakers want to use them in vehicles. Most lithium ion batteries available today are designed with an oxide of metal such as cobalt, nickel, or manganese. 

For their research, Choi and colleagues at State University of New York wanted to explore both cheaper metals and the more stable phosphate in place of oxide. Lithium iron phosphate batteries are commercially available in some power tools and solar products but synthesis of the electrode material is complicated. 

So, the scientists wanted to develop a simple method to turn lithium metal phosphate into a good electrode. Lithium manganese phosphate can theoretically store some of the highest amounts of energy of the rechargeable batteries weighing in at 171 milliAmp hours per gram material. 

Choi reasoned the 30 percent loss in capacity could be due to lithium and electrons having to battle their way through the metal oxide, a property called resistance. 

The less distance lithium and electrons have to travel out of the cathode, he thought, the less resistance and the more electricity could be stored.