Renowned Lithium Battery Co-Creator, John Goodenough, Passes Away at 100
The University of Texas announced on Monday that John Goodenough, co-recipient of the 2019 Nobel Prize in chemistry, has passed away at the age of 100. Goodenough’s groundbreaking work in developing the lithium-ion battery revolutionized technology, enabling rechargeable power for a wide range of devices, from cellphones and computers to electric cars and pacemakers.
Goodenough, who had been a faculty member at the University of Texas for nearly four decades, passed away on Sunday at an assisted living facility in Austin. The cause of death has not been disclosed. In 2019, he became the oldest person to receive a Nobel Prize, sharing the prestigious award with M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino.
Upon receiving the Nobel Prize, Goodenough expressed gratitude for being able to continue his work beyond the traditional retirement age, stating, “Live to 97 and you can do anything.” Despite not being a household name, Goodenough’s research paved the way for the portable devices that have become indispensable in today’s world.
The development of lithium-ion batteries was a laborious process spanning over a decade. Whittingham, reflecting on his work from the 1970s, acknowledged that he had no inkling of the profound impact it would have. Goodenough himself admitted, “We thought it would be nice and help in a few things,” never envisioning the revolution it would spark in the field of electronics.
Each of the Nobel laureates made significant contributions to the advancement of commercial rechargeable batteries. Whittingham’s work involved utilizing lithium’s propensity to release electrons, creating a battery capable of generating over two volts. Building upon Whittingham’s findings, Goodenough increased the battery’s capacity to four volts by incorporating cobalt oxide in the cathode.
The battery remained unsafe for general commercial use until Yoshino’s breakthrough in the 1980s. His innovation eliminated the volatile pure lithium, opting for safer lithium ions instead. This paved the way for the first lightweight, durable, and rechargeable commercial batteries that entered the market in 1991.
Born in Jena, Germany, in 1922, Goodenough relocated to the United States and earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Chicago. He began his illustrious career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later made his groundbreaking lithium-ion discovery while leading the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory at the University of Oxford. Even after receiving the Nobel Prize, Goodenough continued to teach and conduct research on battery materials and solid-state science and engineering.
Goodenough and his wife, Irene, were married for 70 years until her passing in 2016.
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