Friday, December 11, 2009

Amprius' New Silicon Nanowire Anodes


Hey Y'all--

This morning in Comm 435, I presented for our poster research project presentation. I researched Amprius' new silicon nanowire anodes for lithium-ion batteries. The traditional lithium-ion battery anode is made of carbon while Amprius' new anode is made of silicon nanowires. Silicon holds over 10 times more lithium than carbon in its' nanowire form because it has a bigger surface area for lithium to squeeze between nanowires. Researchers have known silicon has a larger capacity than carbon for years, but they have never been able to efficiently cycle the silicon.

This product is in its' first generation and is not on the market yet. This new type of battery will have major implications on the environment. For example, electric car sales have the potential to significantly increase because of the longer lasting battery. As you might have guessed, this will also lead to fewer batteries being disposed of in our landfills which will result in less hazardous waste in our environment.

This morning went so great. I was extremely impressed with everyone's posters. I presented to over a dozen students, my TA Zeynep, and Professor K. while answering each of their questions. I really enjoyed the opportunity to teach others about Amprius' new anode and I hope everyone enjoyed my presentation.

This was a great learning experience and I hope it continues to be a course project for future students.

Check out Amprius' website at www.amprius.com to learn more!


Erica

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