Plexiglas makes nanowire batteries last longer

Today, most smartphone and device batteries are made from lithium and slowly lose capacity over thousands of recharges. Researchers at UC Irvine built a battery that substituted gold nanowire in electrolyte gel for the lithium and lost barely 5% battery capacity over 200,000 charge cycles — but they aren't totally sure how it worked.



In the race to make more efficient batteries, scientists would like to pack together tiny nanowires that could be charged many times over. A team from University of California, Irvine, has coated these nanowires with plexiglas-like-gel, and found that they last much longer than other or uncoated nanowire batteries. Researcher Mya Le Thai explains.

Source (Engadget):
http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/22/accidental-discovery-batteries-last-years-longer/