Source: Chemical & Engineering News, 10/17/25
Lithium-ion batteries can catch fire because they use liquid electrolytes made of flammable organic solvents. A new water-based electrolyte with the texture of kids’ play slime promises to make batteries safer. Because it dissolves in water, the quasi-solid electrolyte also allows for easy recycling of valuable metals from batteries, says Shintaro Yasui of the Institute of Science Tokyo, who reported on the work at the Materials Science and Technology conference in Columbus, Ohio, on Sept. 29. In addition, the material is easy to make from lithium salts and water at ambient conditions using mechanochemistry. “We don’t need any dry rooms or glove boxes,” Yasui says.