University of Chicago develops patented iron sulfide-based material to improve battery efficiency and sustainability

John Anderson, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Chicago, has been granted a patent for a material that could store and generate energy more efficiently and sustainably than currently used methods.

(Image source: University of Chicago)

The patented material, based on iron sulfide, can be prepared as a bulk powder or as a thin film deposited on a substrate.

The researchers are working to discover new materials to improve the performance or reduce the cost of energy storage solutions, including electrodes for supercapacitor devices such as electric vehicles . These electrodes can also be used in lithium and sodium batteries for electronic devices and applied to grid energy storage. "We built nanosheets of a substance that we have already studied, iron sulfide," Anderson said. "In battery applications, these nanosheets enable faster reversible charging."

The researchers have already demonstrated proof of concept through laboratory synthesis. The current application is as a positive electrode, possibly for sulfur batteries. If optimized, these materials can be used as solid electrolytes or positive electrodes in various types of batteries. The biggest obstacle at present is to improve the stability of the material, which is of great significance regardless of the application.

“As society becomes more electrified , the need for batteries will grow, and so will the need for raw materials for them,” Anderson said. “What’s exciting about this research is that this material is made of two elements that are very abundant and low-cost on Earth: iron and sulfur.”

Global electricity generation capacity almost tripled between 2019 and 2050, according to BloombergNEF’s New Energy Outlook 2020, a long-term scenario analysis of the future of the energy economy.

The report noted that lithium iron phosphate can be used in commercial electric vehicles, electric buses and stationary storage devices, so demand remains high. This will require "a significant increase in battery production capacity and raw material supply."

In addition, according to the report:

Battery demand will reach 2 terawatt-hours by 2030, up from less than 230 gigawatt-hours in 2019;

Renewable energy will increase from 35% in 2019 to 68% in 2050;

Fossil fuels will account for 24% of electricity generation capacity by 2050, down from 56% in 2019.

Anderson is committed to developing new disruptive materials to significantly improve battery performance and cost. His research focuses on developing inorganic synthetic chemistries to solve problems related to nature, energy and new materials.