Though development of processor, memory and other technologies in mobile computing has grown exponentially, one area, battery technology has remained at stand still in comparison. It still takes more then few hours to charge that battery, we still don’t have a true 24-hour device and Lithium Ion batteries are unstable at the best. However, researchers at US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have developed a new battery that might solve some of the above problems.

A research team led by Argonne’s nano scientist Tijana Rajh and battery expert Christopher Johnson has discovered that batteries made with nanotubes composed of titanium dioxide can recharge to 50% in just 30 seconds and gradually boost operational capacity with use. When the research team switched out conventional graphite anodes with strips of anode composed of the titanium nanotubes they saw that as the battery cycled through several charges and discharges, its internal structure began to orient itself in a way that dramatically improved the battery's performance.

Using titanium dioxide nanotubes in place of graphite also improves the reliability and safety of lithium-ion batteries. In certain cases, lithium can work its way out of solution and deposit on the graphite anodes, causing a dangerous chain reaction known as thermal runaway, which doesn’t happen on titanium anode.

No word yet on when batteries based on this technology will come to the market, but the research and development on the new technology is moving fast and we shouldn’t be surprised to see titanium nanotubes battery on the market in near future. [Via PhysOrg]