Smithsonian (Washington, D.C., March 7) – Prashant Jain, a professor of chemistry at Illinois, and his collaborators are working on improving a different facet of lithium batteries: the electrolyte. Jain and his students have developed a superionic solid, made from nanoparticles of copper selenide. It allows charged particles to flow at a rate comparable to a liquid electrolyte, improving the safety and life cycle of batteries.