Organic Nanomaterials and Metal Particles Could Mean Better Batteries

Researchers from the National Korea Maritime and Ocean University have developed a method for adding metals to organic materials that they claim is simple, safe, and cost-effective. The method will allow the production of sodium-ion batteries, an improved alternative to lithium-ion batteries. The research team’s method for the production of metal-doped carbon-based (MADOC-carbon) involves adding a metallic ingredient to an organic solvent (a liquid containing the carbon-based material) and then introducing a pair of metal wires to the mixture and applying a direct current, producing plasma discharge. The energy transmitted from the plasma discharge to the molecules in the mixture causes them to break apart into radicals,...