Graphene balls can be fully charged in 12 minutes and maintain stability at the temperatures required for electric vehicle batteries.

Samsung Electronics Advanced Institute of Technology (research team led by In-hyuk Son and Seok-kwang Du) has succeeded in developing a battery material called 'graphene ball' that can increase charging capacity by 45% compared to existing lithium-ion batteries while making charging speed more than five times faster.

While existing batteries took nearly an hour to fully charge even with fast charging technology, a battery using 'graphene ball' material can be fully charged in 12 minutes. In addition, it can maintain stability up to 60°C, which is the temperature standard required for electric vehicle batteries.

The research results related to this were recently published online in the scientific journal Nature Communications under the title "Realization of High-Speed Charging and High-Capacity Lithium-Ion Batteries Using Graphene Balls."

Samsung Electronics Advanced Institute of Technology, while searching for a way to apply graphene, which has high strength and conductivity, to batteries, identified a mechanism to mass-synthesize graphene in a three-dimensional form resembling popcorn using inexpensive silica (SiO2).

When 'graphene balls' were utilized as a protective layer for the positive electrode and as a negative electrode material in lithium-ion batteries, the results showed increased charging capacity, reduced charging time, and satisfaction with high-temperature safety.

Samsung Electronics Advanced Institute of Technology has filed two patents in the United States and Korea regarding technology related to 'graphene balls'.

“This research has enabled the inexpensive mass synthesis of multifunctional, highly crystalline graphene composite materials while significantly improving various characteristics of lithium-ion batteries,” said Inhyeok Son, a principal researcher at Samsung Electronics’ Advanced Institute of Technology and the first author of the paper. “We will continue to advance secondary battery technology to keep pace with the recent rapid growth of the mobile device and electric vehicle markets.”