Griffith Hack Clean & Sustainable Technologies

The rechargeable battery world is abuzz with the news that a rechargeable battery based on lithium-sulfur chemistry has been realised.  This chemistry has the potential to store many times the charge of current lithium-ion batteries which is good news for all sorts of clean and sustainable technologies, most notably hybrid and electric vehicles.  The breakthrough was the use of nanotechnology.  The nano-structure of the cathode is shown in the figure.

Carbon nanorods with infused sulfur make a great cathode

The difficult challenge was always the cathode, the part of the battery that stores and releases electrons in the charge and recharge cycles … To enable a reversible electrochemical reaction at high current rates, the electrically-active sulphur needs to remain in the most intimate contact with a conductor, such as carbon.