Researchers believe that a new type of sustainable battery made using water and clay could be an excellent option for future missions to Mars. This new battery stands out as a particularly impressive product because it uses components readily available on the Red Planet, replacing most of the traditionally used materials.
Batteries are usually created using metal electrodes and a lithium salt solution placed around two electrodes. But this new battery was designed to use two electrodes made of graphene that were then placed in a solution of water and clay.
The secret to the operation of this new sustainable battery is hidden in the construction process. The clay layers are filled with tiny, microscopic channels that the researchers say are only one nanometer thick, and when these channels are filled with purified water, the liquid exhibits unusual behavior. Because the water is in an extremely confined space, it becomes a “working fluid,” allowing particles to separate opposite charges as they move between the two electrodes. Thanks to this extraordinary feature, it is possible for the battery to store energy.
The new sustainable battery was able to generate up to 1.6 volts of energy and then be charged and fully discharged for a total of 60,000 cycles without losing efficiency. It can easily be said that this is a very impressive achievement, especially considering that this battery is made only from clay and water.
The researchers say they made the design as simple as possible so it could be used as widely as possible. The group also analyzed the types of clay thought to exist on Mars and found some viable options that would be compatible with the design.
The study is described in detail in a preprint article published on arXiv.
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