Why Chemistry is Awesome! - Episode 1|| Fluoride-Ion Batteries!

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There’s an element so dangerous, that it was once called the Chemist Killer.
And believe it or not, this element may be the key to unlocking Next Gen Battery Technology.
We’re talking about Fluorine, the 13th most abundant element on Earth, and 24th most abundant in the universe.
Fluorine is the 9th element on the period table, 9 also representing its atomic number, meaning that it has 9 protons in its nucleus.
But how dangerous is it?
Fluorine takes the form of a pale-yellow diatomic gas in standard conditions. Diatomic means molecules of two atoms.
The gas is extremely toxic; just a concentration of 25 parts per million is potentially lethal!
Fluorine Gas will VIOLENTLY react to just about anything except for a few of the Noble gas elements.
And many scientists from the 19th century were seriously poisoned, blinded, or even killed working with the substance, including Belgian chemist Paulin Louyet and French chemist Jerome Nickles.
It all boils down to electronegativity which refers to how easily an electron is attracted to an atom.
And Fluorine just so happens to be the most electronegative element known.
Electrons orbit the nucleus of atoms at various distances depending on the energy level, each level forms a shell.
Each shell has a maximum number of electrons that it can hold all the way to the outer most shell called the valence shell.
EVERY atom wants to have the maximum amount of electrons in their valence shell because that makes the atom stable.
And the closer an atom is to fill its valence shell the stronger it will attract electrons from other atoms.
Going back to fluorine it has 7 electrons in its valence shell and needs just ONE MORE electron to fill it up, hence it’s electronegativity and why it’s so corrosive and dangerous.
So what does this have to do with Next-Gen Battery Technology?
Before you freak out about the thought of putting a highly reactive substance next to your ear, Scientist is using Fluoride, not Fluorine.
Fluoride is the Anion of Fluorine, meaning that it has an extra electron and a negative charge.
Fluoride is stable, having a full valence shell.
Now let’s turn our attention back to the awesome battery tech research.
The research is a collaboration between esteemed research facilities including the Honda Research Institute, Caltech, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The researchers have made a huge breakthrough in Fluoride-Ion Battery or FIB Technology.
The chemistry behind FIB allows rechargeable batteries to have 8 TIMES the energy density compared to current lithium-ion batteries.
Imagine having to charge your phone once a week, or having an Electric Car with 2,800km range!
This may one day be a reality because FIBs use metal Fluorides, which is a chemical compound containing two Fluoride atoms for every one metal atom, most likely copper.
This means that the metal Fluoride can transfer two electrons from just 3 atoms.
The typical Lithium-Ion Batteries use a Lithium Cobalt Oxide compound that only has one Lithium Ion atom for every cobalt and every two oxygen atoms.
Lithium cobalt oxide can transfer only 1 electron from 4 atoms.
FIB technology research dates back to at around the 1970s but the major roadblock up until this point has been the electrolyte, which is the solution that allows the ions to travel between electrodes.
The issue with Fluoride ions is that they have only been able to dissolve into solid electrolytes.
Because of this, the battery would only work at 150°C or around 300°F.
But the team of Honda/CalTech team of researchers figured out how to make a fluoride ion battery that works at room temperature using a liquid solution called BTFE.
They performed computer simulations of BTFE, to see how well it could keep fluoride ions stable while allowing them to move inside the battery.
The simulations showed how the BTFE molecules to surround the fluoride and dissolve it at room temperature.
Based on the data collected, the team tweaked the BTFE solution with additives which improved the solution’s performance and stability.
Although this is a MAJOR breakthrough, there is still a LOT of work to be done before the technology is ready to be implemented commercially.

Видео Why Chemistry is Awesome! - Episode 1|| Fluoride-Ion Batteries! канала NeoScribe