A team of researchers from the University

Autonomy has always been a contentious issue as far as smartphones are concerned. Batteries slowly discharge throughout the day, whether we use the phone or not. What’s more, the phone you may be reading this on will probably download a bit faster by having the screen on for a few minutes.

And although it is true that there tips to protect the battery and make it last longer, the truth is that the answer to this dilemma is not in the hands of the user. It’s more the manufacturer’s fault, as a team of Canadian researchers from Dalhousie University have discovered.

The industry has not solved this problem for decades

According to Micheal Metzger, a member of the research team that has revealed this bug, the problem is in the battery components. A few years ago we thought we knew the causes why batteries were getting worseno matter what we did to avoid it. And it turns out we were wrong.

As we said above, the answer lies in the internal components of the battery. More specifically, in the plastic that holds them. a plastic it’s not the right kind to prevent excessive drain and power consumption by a phone or tablet. It’s almost hard to accept that it’s something so simple.

Battery life cycle in a smartphone

The study that this Canadian team was conducting was intended to find the best solution in terms of which compounds to use to make a more durable battery, but they found the solution by accident. It turns out that all the layers of metal and insulation components that make up a battery are held together by PET plastic tapes, which degrades very quickly and contributes to batteries draining themselveswithout any intervention required by the user.

When PET breaks down, releases molecules that create a chain reaction with the chemistry of the battery. This chain reaction is what accelerates the discharge process of the batteries.

Manufacturers are already taking notice

The team has been making its findings public since November 2022, of which, according to Micheal Metzger, manufacturers say they are taking note because it is a “very relevant field” for companies dedicated to smartphones and tablets. Not only that, but players in the electric car industry have also shown interest.

The solution proposed by the researchers is slightly more expensive, but also more stable: change PET plastic to polypropylene. This material does not decompose as quickly, so those molecules that accelerate battery degradation are not generated.

If the industry is really interested in implementing these changes, we may see a revolution in the battery section much sooner than we think. For now we will have to keep waiting.