Gold nanoparticle coating stops short-circuit spikes, boosts battery life to 6000 hours

Researchers from Concordia University used a sparse gold-nanoparticle coating to cut dendrite growth in zinc batteries by up to 50 times.

Using ultra-bright X-rays at the Canadian Light Source, the team observed how the particles interact with the electrode surface.

Lab tests showed the coated batteries operated for more than 6,000 hours using under 10% surface coverage and minimal gold.

The method requires only small amounts of gold and simple processing, and the study was published in Journal of Materials Chemistry A.