Discovery about new battery overturns decades of false assumptions

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Of course, potassium atoms weigh a lot more ...

Last edited Sat Oct 10, 2015, 09:37 AM - Edit history (1)

Energy density is usually a priority, so people have investigated high-energy-density materials more thoroughly. With each potassium atom weighing more than five lithium atoms (but each providing only one electron in electrochemical reactions) potassium offers lower energy density than lithium, so has drawn less interest. Magnesium and aluminum atoms weigh much less than potassium atoms, but provide two and three electrons, respectively, so there is much more interest in those metals.

Sodium, which is a bit less hazardous to handle than potassium, has been used in a number of battery configurations, mostly non-rechargable up to now:
http://phys.org/news/2015-03-na-ion-batteries-closer-li-ion.html
http://www.nature.com/news/the-rechargeable-revolution-a-better-battery-1.14815