Researchers reported Aug. 24 in the journal Nature Communications the discovery of a new design for the battery cathode, drastically increasing the storage capacity and upending conventional wisdom that the magnesium-chloride bond must be broken before inserting magnesium into the host.
“We are combining a nanostructured cathode and a new understanding of the magnesium electrolyte,” said Yan Yao, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Houston and lead author on the paper. “That’s new.”