Team creates map for production of eco-friendly metalsIn work that could usher in more efficient, ec

Team creates map for production of eco-friendly metals

In work that could usher in more efficient, eco-friendly processes for the production of important metals like lithium, iron and cobalt, researchers from MIT and SLAC have mapped what is happening at the atomic level behind a particularly promising approach called metal electrolysis.
By creating maps for a wide range of metals, they not only determined which metals should be easiest to produce using this approach, but also identified fundamental barriers behind the efficient production of others. As a result, the researchers’ map could become an important design tool for optimizing the production of all these metals.
The work could also aid the development of metal-air batteries, cousins of the lithium-ion batteries used in today’s electric vehicles.