The Little Book of Irish Science SFI Little Book of Irish Science | Page 40

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Finally, a battery
with staying power
Fantastic news for mobile phone users across the
globe! Dr. Ryan and his research team in the Materials
and Surface Science Institute (MSSI) at the University
of Limerick (UL) have developed a technology that
more than doubles the capacity of lithium-ion battery
anodes and retains this high capacity even after being
charged and discharged over a thousand times. The
team used germanium, an alternative element to carbon
but with a higher capacity, to restructure nanowires
into a stable porous material using nanotechnology.
The new germanium nanowire-based anode has the
ability to greatly increase the capacity and lifetime of
lithium-ion batteries .
http://www.ulsites.ul.ie/mssi/materials-surface-
science-institute