Samsung's 'graphene balls' could make phone batteries last longer and charge faster

[midian182]

While modern smartphones can make those from 15 years ago look like something from the Flintstones, classic handsets were able to boast extensive battery lives compared to today’s devices. Addressing the issue is Samsung’s Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT), which has developed a ‘graphene ball’ that can make lithium-ion batteries last longer and charge faster.

SAIT researchers say the graphene ball coating can be used inside regular lithium-ion cells to increase a battery’s capacity by up to 45 percent and decrease charging times fivefold. That means current lithium-ions that take 90 minutes to fully juice would only take 18 minutes, while those that take an hour would see their charging times drop to just 12 minutes.

While the increased capacities and speedy charging suggests a detrimental effect on the cells’ lifespan, Samsung says this isn’t the case. The scientists claim their batteries still had a 78 percent charge retention after 500 cycles.

Thanks to its ability to maintain stability at up to 60 degrees Celsius, the new batteries could also be used in electric vehicles.

SAIT came up with a way to use silica to synthesize graphene like three-dimensional popcorn. These “balls” were then used as material for advanced lithium-ion batteries. Not only would it bring battery-related benefits to phones, but it could also enable slimmer and lighter handsets. Unsurprisingly, Samsung has already patented the technology in South Korea and the US.

Science is finding an increasing number of uses for graphene, including techniques that make seawater drinkable, stop counterfeiting, and detect cancerous cells.

Don’t expect to see graphene-based batteries anytime soon, though. The technology is still in the early stages of development. You can read the technical paper on how the material works on Nature.com.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/72042-samsung-graphene-balls-could-make-phone-batteries-last.html

 

[stewi0001]

"Graphene, is there anything it can't do?"

It can't play Crysis

 

[cuerdc]

This sounds good been awaiting a decent jump in battery performance but yet to be seen...

 

[amstech]

I got my Samsung S6 last September NIB when I upgraded from my S5, so I've had it for about 14 months.
I would say the battery has about..., I dunno... 40% of its original capacity, give or take.

By the time I get another year out of it, I'd say below 15%.
I would love to see an article by Scorpus The Taco Maker running all sorts of battery tests on various phones after 24 months of normal everyday use. Fast charging still works great though.

The biggest issue with batteries isn't their performance when new. Its their performance after 18 months.

 

[flacoman3]

"Graphene, is there anything it can't do?"

Yea, actually get implemented in a real commercially available technology.

 

[Kibaruk]

I got my Samsung S6 last September NIB when I upgraded from my S5, so I've had it for about 14 months.
I would say the battery has about..., I dunno... 40% of its original capacity, give or take.

By the time I get another year out of it, I'd say below 15%.
I would love to see an article by Scorpus The Taco Maker running all sorts of battery tests on various phones after 24 months of normal everyday use. Fast charging still works great though.

The biggest issue with batteries isn't their performance when new. Its their performance after 18 months.

I would not blame it on the battery itself, more than the applications and updates, and useless stuff people tend to keep on the phone.

It's not that simple, things do not remain the same, apps change developers, some get huge version changes, all of these things affect battery performance.

Heck, I've thought plenty of times my battery is dying, cleaned the phone and almost as good battery life as when purchased.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Neat. Wake me up when samsung actually implements this. Graphene has been praised for years while achieving absolutely nothing.

I got my Samsung S6 last September NIB when I upgraded from my S5, so I've had it for about 14 months.
I would say the battery has about..., I dunno... 40% of its original capacity, give or take.

By the time I get another year out of it, I'd say below 15%.
I would love to see an article by Scorpus The Taco Maker running all sorts of battery tests on various phones after 24 months of normal everyday use. Fast charging still works great though.

The biggest issue with batteries isn't their performance when new. Its their performance after 18 months.

So you claim that a S6, after a year of usage, wont get 2 hours of SoT out of a charge, and after 2 years wouldnt be able to get 40 minutes?

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Post pictures of your excessive battery drain from your phone, I'd love to see that. Also, such drastic battery decrease is not normal, and most likely is covered under warranty.

Most likely, you have installed an app that is draining your battery quickly. Everyone I know that complains about Samsung batteries usually has Twitter/Facebook/Facebook chat installed, all sucking up juice.

I'll happily bet money on you either having a dead cell in the battery, which is covered under warranty, or an app sucking up all your juice. either that, or you used the phone so excessively you managed to blow through 500 full charges in 14 months, which would fall under a end user problem.

 

[amstech]

Heck, I've thought plenty of times my battery is dying, cleaned the phone and almost as good battery life as when purchased.

Phone has just about every app/service disabled I can.
The OS is tweaked to my liking with very little running, standard wallpaper, display always set to dim ext. I do not use Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, ESPN or really any apps for that matter.
Chrome, The Score and Clash mostly.

Last year I disabled/deleted all of my Facebook apps and I couldn't run VR without them so I had to factory recovery the phone!
I run Clash of Clans a lot. When I first got the phone, I could play clash for 20 minutes and it would use about 2-3% battery. The same 20 minute session now uses about 10-15%.

Same issue I ran into my S5, thank god the battery was replaceable. When I first got my S5 it would last days, last few months I had it, or about 18 months later it wouldn't last a day. Popped in a new $20 battery, poof!

Also, I get a kick out of being placed in this 'this ***** doesn't know how to configure/use his phone properly" nonsense. I needed a laugh today.

Neat. Wake me up when samsung actually implements this. Graphene has been praised for years while achieving absolutely nothing.
So you claim that a S6, after a year of usage, wont get 2 hours of SoT out of a charge, and after 2 years wouldnt be able to get 40 minutes?

No, that's not what I said.

 

[senketsu]

"Graphene, is there anything it can't do?"
Yea, actually get implemented in a real commercially available technology.

It's not what most would consider tech, but the company Vittoria is using it in their high end bicycle tires. Of course reviewers were universally skeptical, but after trying it, it actually works (better grip with less wear, puncture resistance while keeping the tire light). I use them and I agree although for some $90 to $100 CAD for one clincher bicycle tire is a little much. Like any performance tire they still wear out faster than a commuter or touring tire.

 

[amstech]

Oh yea forgot to post this:

http://www.businessinsider.com/smartphone-batteries-are-only-meant-to-last-a-year-2015-10

So, technically, your smartphone's battery is only designed to work properly between under a year and under a year and a half. That doesn't sound very good.

According to Battery University, your smartphone battery's capacity can reduce down from about 94-88% capacity out-of-the-box down to 84-73% after just 250 cycles. That's 10-15% in eight months. In a year, or 365 days, your battery's capacity could reduce 15-22%.