Used to store energy and provide power to a wide range of electronic devices, batteries are ubiquitous in our day-to-day lives, but what exactly are they made of?
Every battery has three , an anode, cathode and electrolyte. Energy is stored in the electrodes (anode and cathode) that stand at either end of the battery, with the electrolyte acting as a chemical medium between them. Cathodes are usually metallic in nature due to their chemical structure and conductive properties, while electrolytes can be in either a wet or dry state. The nature of the electrolyte is determined by the battery鈥檚 intended use: wet-cell batteries tend to be for large-scale use in cars, cell phone towers and planes, while dry-cell batteries are usually found in hand-held electronics.
When a battery is being used, a chemical reaction is triggered from the anode (鈥�-鈥�) and flows across the electrolyte towards the cathode (鈥�+鈥�), where it undergoes another chemical reaction prior to powering a device. Once the material in either electrode is consumed, the battery is empty. Batteries can be either single-use or rechargeable depending on their chemical makeup, but the latter has gained more traction as the world transitions towards renewable energy and sustainable development.聽