Mobile phones are a common part of our lives. They have a lot of necessary components and one of them is the battery. It also represents the biggest problem. Its battery life still tends to hover around the one-day mark, and overnight charging is common practice for a large number of users. Why is that so? Smartphones have been around for several years and still only last us a day on a charge. Where is the hidden problem?
Today's situation
Today we have smartphones with large Quad HD + displays, extra powerful processors and smart software gadgets. The mobile network itself has also undergone an evolution, which is several times faster than the one we used a few years ago. Technology advances and we still charge our mobile phones every day. Classic push-button cell phones lasted for several days on a single charge.
Of course, today we have several models that can last more than two days on a charge. The capacity of accumulators has also increased over the years and today we normally see capacities moving at the level 5000 mAh and chipsets are becoming more and more efficient. Increasing the battery capacity sounds simple, but as the number of mAh increases, so does the size of the mobile phone component itself.
Using several years of technology
Today's smartphones and most portable electronics use batteries based on technology from the 80s and 90s. It is this that represents the biggest problem that bothers many of today's users. The solution is the development of new technology for accumulators. We have already heard about several innovations, but we have never seen anything like this applied in practice. The development of a new type of battery is, for example, extremely slow compared to the development of processors or mobile phone cameras. There is talk of the development of so-called "stacked batteries" from Samsung and their mass production is to be launched in the future.
It will literally be several cells stacked on top of each other to achieve a higher final capacity with the same physical dimensions. However, there is no need to get high hopes from this technology - the capacity will increase by approx only by 10%. But it is a certain step forward, because to today's dimensions 5000 mAh capacity can fit the battery 5500 mAh.
One of the solutions to extend the battery life is of course the purchase of a power bank that will supply juice to your smartphone when needed. Chinese sellers have a diverse range of power banks.
View the offer of coupons for power banks
Graphene batteries as a suitable solution
"Fixed batteries" sound better. Currently used accumulators use two metal electrodes in a liquid electrolyte. Ion particles move between these electrodes during discharge and charge. Solid batteries would not be made of liquid electrolyte. As their name suggests, it would be replaced by a solid piece of metal or alloy.
The new technology would make it possible to create thinner batteries, or to significantly increase their capacity while keeping the same physical dimensions. Graphene, which is extremely thin, would be used. It is an excellent conductor of electricity and also of heat. At the same time, it retains a high level of hardness and strength. Compared to today's lithium-ion batteries, graphene batteries would offer 60% more capacity while maintaining the same dimensions.
So why don't we have them in today's electronics? Despite the fact that graphene is a great material for the production of batteries, there are significant obstacles. Mass production of graphene is very difficult and also expensive. Therefore, based on our current knowledge, a smartphone with a graphene battery is not considered feasible. The best we can currently make are hybrid graphene / lithium batteries.
These can already be purchased from the company as Elecjet. However, it would probably significantly increase the price of smartphones and discourage almost all potential buyers from buying them. We will have to wait a year or so for batteries that provide significantly better battery life per charge.
