The Kevlar-doped battery is so durable that it can be used to make structural elements of robots

Scientists have developed a zinc-air battery, partly made from Kevlar, that is strong enough to withstand structural stress.

Batteries are required to providerobotics with electricity, but at the same time, the tries usually account for at least 20% of the internal space and mass of the machine, the movement of which also consumes energy. However, researchers at the University of Michigan have come up with a solution that allows the element to be used as a carrier for the device.

To do this,The team coated the electrodes of the zinc-air battery with a nanofiber membrane made of Kevlar in a water-based polymer gel that helps transfer hydroxide ions between the electrodes.In addition to increasing mechanical strength, the nanostructured fiber coating also preventsrostdendrites – harmful metal formations that lead to damage to the battery.

According to the developers, thanks to othersimprovements, the energy density in their battery is three times higher than that of a conventional lithium-ion storage device. Scientists' calculations also showed that if a robot body was made from such a zinc-air battery, it would provide 72 times more energy per unit of total mass than a single lithium-ion battery.

However, the main disadvantage of zinc batteries is still their service life, since the accumulation efficiency begins to decrease after only 100 operating cycles.

Scientists did not report the maximum power consumption of the prototype, but said they are negotiating the commercialization of the development and hope to bring the new system to market in the next 3-5 years.

We also previously reported on the development of high-power potassium batteries that charge in 10 seconds.

text: Ilya Bauer, photo and video: University of Michigan