Why do phone batteries explode and how to make them last longer? Chemists explain

LAHORE - The smartphone users were recently left in a sense of fear when Samsung requested the people to switch off its latest Galaxy Note 7, responding to the reports of smartphone battery explosions.

However, a group of chemists at the American Chemical Society has taken a crucial step to address the concerns of the mobile phone users by explaining the actual phenomena how a battery works why it explodes.

In a video, the ACS chemists said that most of the batteries used in advanced smartphones are lithium ion batteries, which charge up due to the flow of electrons into the device, triggering accumulation of lithium ions from the positive electrode to the negative electrode.



But, when the smartphone gets hot, the number of sites available for accumulation of lithium ions at the negative electrode, also get reduced. This process causes phones to get even hotter and eventually explode in some cases.

In the case of Samsung Galaxy Note 7, the investigators are still looking for the actual reason behind the battery explosions and it is not clear whether it was the same problem or not.

How to make batteries last longer?

The chemists have also included some key tips to get the best out the batteries of the smartphones. Such as:

• Do not let the battery of smartphones drain completely. Because, it actually reduces the charging capacity of the lithium ion batteries. So every time you fully drain the battery of your phone, you actually shorten its life as well.


• Do not leave you smartphone turned off for longer durations, unless its battery charged at least 50%.


• Do not leave your phone unused for longer hours, when the battery is discharged. This will also diminish the average life of the batter.


• And most important of all, do not let your smartphone catch heat. Because this heat could speed up the chemical reaction going on in the batter of your phone, reducing its lifetime and even causing explosions.

Some Additional Tips To Enhance Battery Time:

• Shut down all of the additional applications


• Switch off the location services


• Switch off unnecessary push notifications


• Regularly update the operating system of your phone


• Try to manage the screen brightness


• Use WiFi instead of 3G/4G/Edge services


• Remove your phone's casing

Here is the full video released by the American Chemical Society: