ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 1 1 PROCESS TECHNOLOGY DRY MANUFACTURING FOR BETTER BATTERIES Scientists at the DOE’s Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL), Tenn., are exploring the benefits of a dry manufacturing process to make the electrodes in lithium-ion batteries. These electrodes are usually made using a wet slurry with toxic solvents, an expensive manufacturing approach that poses health and environmental risks. ORNL’s new method could offer a path to cleaner, more affordable high-energy electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Their process eliminates the solvent while showing promise for delivering a battery that is durable, less weighed down by inactive elements, and able to maintain high energy storage capacity after use. Such improvements could boost wider EV adoption, helping to reduce carbon emissions and achieve environmental regulation goals. According to the researchers, their enhanced material is more flexible and much more comfortable to wear than traditional nanofoam, and the material dynamically responds to external jolts due to the way the ion clusters and networks are fabricated in the material. The team expanded on previous work where they explored the use of liquids in nanofoam to create a material that meets the complex safety demands of high-contact sports. Their new liquid nanofoam process allows the interior material of the helmet to compress and disperse the impact force, minimizing the force transmitted to the head and reducing the risk of injury. It also regains its original shape after impact, allowing for multiple hits and ensuring the helmet’s continued effectiveness in protecting the athlete’s head during the game. The same liquid properties that make this new nanofoam safer for athletic gear also offer a potential use in other places where collisions happen, like cars, whose safety and material protective systems are being reconsidered to embrace the emerging era of electric propulsion and auto- mated vehicles. virginia.edu. Dry processing is a relatively new alternative that saves factory floor space as well as time, energy, waste disposal, and startup expenses. Until now, researchers have had limited understanding of how and why it works. The ORNL team discovered that batteries made using the dry process showed an extraordinary ability to maintain their capacity after extended use. Also, they are highly chemically desirable because their structure allows lithium ions to take a more direct path between the anode and cathode. These advantages reflect a high energy density and good long-term cyclability. The electrode can bend and flex well, demonstrating excellent mechanical strength and the winding capability needed for mass production of batteries. The dry process could offer a variety of benefits to manufacturers—it’s highly compatible with current state-of-theart electrode manufacturing equipment and its reduced environmental impact makes battery plants suitable in more places. ornl.gov. NANOFOAM DESIGN BREAKTHROUGH Nanofoam just received a big upgrade from a team of researchers working with the material at the University of Virginia. Integrating nanofoam with ionized water instead of regular water, the team designed a new versatile and responsive material for use in protective sports equipment, car safety features, and wearable medical devices. ORNL researchers found that a battery anode film, made using a dry process, was strong and flexible. These characteristics make a lithium-ion battery safer and more durable. Courtesy of Navitas Systems. This diagram illustrates how a liquid nanofoam cushion responds to an impact. BRIEF TriTech Titanium Parts, Detroit, was awarded the grand prize for design excellence at PowderMet 2023 in the military/firearms category. TriTech uses metal injection molding to produce its Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy ring clamp, for use within a mounting device for a rifle scope. tritechtitanium.com.
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