Silicon in Beach Sand Can Make Li-ion Batteries Last Longer, Researchers from Univeristy of California, Riverside Say

Silicon in beach sand can make Li-ion batteries last longer according to researchers from Univeristy of California, Riverside.

Based on the study conducted by grad student researchers from University of California, Riverside sand from the beach can be a significant component in making a Li-ion battery's life stronger. 

The idea was born when UC grad student Zachary Favors, while strolling in a California beach, realized that beach sand's silicon dioxide may be used to fill the anode (negative side) of a Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery.

Douglas Main from Popular Science, said that silicon in beach sand can make Li-ion batteries last longer because they have a better component compared to graphite (traditionally used today) as it stores more energy. However, silicon is difficult to produce in large amounts and degrades quickly.

LiveMint.com explained how silicon was produced from the beach sand, saying that "Favors looked at sand with a high percentage of quartz and purified it. He then ground salt and magnesium into the purified quartz, and heated the mixture. With the salt acting as a heat absorber, the magnesium worked to remove the oxygen from the quartz, resulting in pure silicon."

Zachary Favors, through a statement published in UCR Today, emphasized that the beach sand can be a cheap but abundant source of silicon.

"This is the holy grail: a low-cost, non-toxic, environmentally friendly way to produce high performance lithium-ion battery anodes," said Zachary Favors, who is also working with professors Cengiz and Mihrimah Ozkan of the Bourns College of Engineering at UC Riverside for the integration of beach sand in Li-ion batteries.

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports as a paper titled "Scalable Synthesis of Nano-Silicon from Beach Sand for Long Cycle Life Li-ion Batteries."

Favors together with other UC, Riverside researchers already filed patents for the technology that harnesses silicon in beach sand to make Li-ion batteries last longer.