Gel polymer electrolyte cuts risk of battery fires

Image depicting a battery being set on fire

Source: Credit: Konstantinos Gerasopoulos/Johns Hopkins University

Devices made with new electrolyte continue to operate under extreme conditions

Researchers in the US have developed a lithium-ion battery electrolyte that doesn’t catch fire by combining an aqueous electrolyte with a gel polymer, thereby circumventing the major safety concerns of common flammable electrolytes.