| Oxazogen Obtains $100,000 Grant for Lithium Air Battery Research 05/31/2007 |
Oxazogen, Inc. has obtained federal funding totaling almost $100,000 to research ways to improve lithium air batteries.The Phase I Small Business Innovative Research grant, awarded by the U.S. Army, totals $99,957 over six months. As with most Oxazogen projects, Michigan Molecular Institute is a subcontractor on the research. Senior Associate Scientist Dr. Abhijit Sarkar is leading the effort.
“The lithium air battery is seen by many in the field as the ultimate battery, so improving it is something that could affect our very way of life,” Sarkar said. “For an example, let’s look at mobile electronics. If we could improve their batteries’ longevity and power, wouldn’t that be something manufacturers and consumers might be interested in?”
Sarkar’s work will focus on developing a better membrane used in the air cathode of the batteries, a unique system because the cathode material is not stored in the battery; it is simply extracted from ambient air as needed. Sarkar proposes a polymer membrane that will be highly permeable to oxygen while remaining impermeable to other materials such as organic carbonates and ethers.
“Our approach is based on unique hyperbranched polymer technology,” Sarkar said. “We’re using a chemical composition that will pair high oxygen permeability with strong chemical resistance, as well as low moisture permeability. The hyperbranched polymer approach also provides the ability to tune in appropriate levels of crosslink density to optimize the mechanical properties of the material.”
Sarkar believes this research has powerful long-term potential. Early success in the research could lead to Phase II funding, which would be significantly larger in terms of dollars and commitment.
“Lithium air batteries show great promise in terms of energy and power density,” he said. “Their market potential is in the billions of dollars. If our approach is successful, the membrane that we’re developing could help make the lithium air battery a marketable success.”
This article supplied by Michigan Molecular Institute.
