Atomic disorder isn’t a flaw, it’s a feature. New battery materials promise ultra-fast charging and boost lifespan than regular batteries.
A research team from Humboldt-University in Berlin has developed a new class of battery anodes that defy conventional material science principles. By deliberately introducing atomic disorder into electrode materials, the team has achieved faster charging, greater stability, and longer battery life.
Traditional batteries rely on highly ordered crystalline structures to transport ions. But this structural perfection also makes the materials rigid, slowing down ion movement and reducing efficiency under high load. The Department of Chemistry team flipped this design logic by embracing structural imperfection.
The researchers demonstrated that introducing disorder can improve ion mobility, increase storage capacity, and significantly boost charge-discharge cycle life. Their studies, published in Nature Communications and Advanced Materials, validate how shifting from rigid to flexible atomic structures can lead to major performance gains.
In lithium-ion batteries, the team’s disordered niobium-tungsten oxide material maintained high efficiency after 1,000 charge cycles. For sodium-ion batteries, they applied controlled amorphisation to iron niobate, achieving a long cycle life of over 2,600 charges with minimal performance drop. Sodium-ion cells are considered an environmentally safer and more abundant alternative to lithium.
Both battery types showed high charging speeds and retained structural stability despite repeated stress. These results demonstrate strong potential for use in fast-charging electric vehicles, renewable energy storage, and safer backup systems.