Material for future batteries and spintronic devices

 

Lithium shortage is an arising challenge due to the ever-increasing demand for lithium-ion based batteries. The problem could be solved by replacing lithium with sodium, which is a lot more abundant on Earth. However, until now, no one has managed to dope graphite -- which is the most common electrode in batteries -- with sodium in large enough concentrations. The researchers of the Spin-spectroscopy group of the Institute of Physics report the successful synthesis of highly sodium-doped graphene. The result was achieved in an international collaboration, and published by ACS Nano:

 

 

The spin lifetime of electrons is also very long in this material, thus making it a good candidate for future spintronic devices. The publication was also highlighted by news site of the collaborating partner, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). EPFL has a long-standing and fruitful collaboration with BME, and according to the latest QS World University Rankings, is the world's 14th best university.

 

Graphene with sodium could make better batteries
https://actu.epfl.ch/news/graphene-with-sodium-could-make-better-batteries/

 

Web page of the research group: http://dept.physics.bme.hu/SpinSpectroscopy