WASHINGTON – Researchers at NASA have developed a new type offluoride-based batteries that will enable people to charge their phonesonly once a week. The researchers replaced the normally used lithiumbatteries by power cells made of fluoride that can last up to eight timeslonger.
Apart from powering the next generation of smartphones, the batteries couldalso be used to power future NASA spacecrafts on their way to deep space.“Fluoride batteries can have a higher energy density, which means that theymay last longer – up to eight times longer than batteries in use today. Butfluoride can be challenging to work with, in particular because it’s socorrosive and reactive,” said study co-author Robert Grubbs.
Though the idea being talked about for quite a long time, fluoride has beendifficult to work with due to its high energy density that makes it hard tostabilize at room temperature, reported *The Sun.* Thus, researchers addedup a new type of electrolyte liquid.
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The new liquid was able to stabilize the battery, hence producing theworld’s first rechargeable fluoride cell. As per the team, the new designproves that fluoride is a viable battery and can help in making thebatteries that last much longer. The batteries operate in a ‘negative’fashion that attracts electrons and draw them through a conductor, ratherthan shedding them.
