THANJAVUR: Lithium-ion battery, which revolutionised the energy sector, will die soon, eminent scientist Dr CNR Rao has cautioned.
Delivering the International Year of Periodic Table (IYPT) 2019 lecture at SASTRA Deemed to be University on Thursday, Dr Rao pointed to a modern rendering of the periodic table prepared by the European Chemical Society, based on the availability of minerals, and said availability of Lithium was limited. Cobalt used in Lithium-ion batteries was predominantly available in Congo and half of the cobalt mines in the country was bought by China and the other by the USA, Rao pointed out.
Dr Rao, however, suggested that sodium-based batteries could be developed as it was available in abundance.
Periodic table marked an important happening in science and it was probably the greatest man-made table. Scientists use it routinely to predict, design or explain various aspects of molecules and materials, Rao said. Intelligent use of the periodic table continued to give rise to new discoveries, Dr Rao said, adding the modern periodic table was an encyclopedia of the properties of all known elements and also provided space to accommodate elements yet to be discovered.