三星电子(Samsung Electronics)开发出核心电池技术，利用石墨烯延长锂离子电池续航时间，并加快充电速度。如果这种技术能投入量产，那将标志着一个行业里程碑。
The South Korean conglomerate said on Monday that its research arm — Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) — has successfully synthesised “graphene balls” that can boost its battery capacity by 45 per cent and increase charging speed by five times the existing standards.
这家韩国综合企业集团周一表示，其研究机构三星先进技术研究院(SAIT)成功合成了“石墨烯球”，可将电池容量提高45%，而充电速度提高至现有标准的五倍。
Graphene has been touted in the global electronics industry as a “miracle material” given its strength, electrical conductivity and elasticity, and has been seen as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries since its discovery in 2004. It is a form of carbon that can be used to develop smaller, slimmer batteries but with higher capacity.
石墨烯的强度、导电性和弹性，使其在全球电子行业被誉为“奇迹材料”，而且自2004年被发现以来一直被视为锂离子电池的替代品。它是一种碳的形态，可被用来开发更小更薄、但容量更大的电池。
Samsung said the graphene-based battery would take just 12 minutes to be fully charged; current lithium-ion batteries take about an hour. The new battery could also be used for electric vehicles, as it can maintain stability at up to 60 degrees Celsius.
三星表示，这种石墨烯电池只需要12分钟即可充满电;而现有的锂离子电池充电需要一个小时左右。新型电池也可用于电动汽车，它能够在最高60摄氏度以下的温度范围内保持稳定。
The company has stepped up its research into battery technology in the wake of last year’s Galaxy Note 7 smartphone safety debacle. The recall and subsequent withdrawal of the fire-prone model cost the company more than $5bn, and some of the phones caught fire due to faulty lithium-ion batteries, according to Samsung.
在去年遭遇Galaxy Note 7智能手机(见文首照片)自燃的安全灾难后，三星加强了对电池技术的研究。据三星透露，召回以及随后撤销这款容易起火的手机使该公司损失50多亿美元，而其中一些手机正是由于锂离子电池有问题而起火的。
SAIT has developed a way to use silica to synthesise graphene like three-dimensional popcorn, and use the graphene “balls” as material for advanced lithium-ion batteries, the company said. Samsung has applied for patents for the technology in South Korea and the US.
该公司宣布，三星先进技术研究院开发出一种方法，用硅石来合成像三维爆玉米花一样的石墨烯，然后将这些石墨烯“球”用作先进锂离子电池的材料。三星已经在韩国和美国申请了这项技术的专利。
According to experts, graphene is more energy efficient so it allows room for other cathode materials. As a result, smartphones with graphene-based batteries can be slimmer and lighter but with a greater capacity.
据专家介绍，石墨烯具有更高能效，因此可为其他阴极材料提供空间。其结果是，采用石墨烯电池的智能手机可以做得更轻薄、但电池容量更大。
Graphene, which in its basic form is a single sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a lattice, can be used in flexible displays, wearables and other next-generation electronic devices. But while lithium-ion battery technology — first commercialised in 1991 — is seen to be reaching its limitations, experts caution it will be years before graphene-based battery technology is ready for commercialisation.
石墨烯的基本形态是呈晶格的单层碳原子片，这种材料可用于柔性显示器、可穿戴设备和其他下一代电子设备。但是，尽管在1991年首次商业化的锂离子电池技术被视为正在触及物理极限，但专家们告诫称，石墨烯电池技术实现商业化仍是多年以后的事情。
“It is a great technology with various potential applications but it will take a long time for graphene-based batteries to be mass produced,” said Kim Young-woo at SK Securities. “The key is who can commercialise the technology first. It won’t be easy to apply the minute processing technology for large-scale production of high-quality, electronics-grade graphene.”
“这是一项潜在用途广泛的了不起的技术，但石墨烯电池需要很久才能投入量产，”SK证券(SK Securities)的金永佑(Kim Young-woo)表示。“关键是谁能抢先把这种技术商业化。应用精细加工技术大规模生产高质量的电子级石墨烯并不容易。”
Khasha Ghaffarzadeh, director at research company IDTechEx, said that Samsung had produced some interesting results but cautioned that the world is a long way from commercially developing such batteries.
研究公司IDTechEx的董事Khasha Ghaffarzadeh表示，三星取得了一些有意思的成果，但他告诫称，世界距离商业开发这样的电池还有很长的路要走。
“The technology readiness level is still at the proof-of-concept to demonstrator stage. We often read about remarkable graphene-based results at these stages but only a few translate into commercial success stories,” he said.
“这种电池的技术就绪水平仍处于概念验证到示范阶段。我们在这些阶段经常读到基于石墨烯的卓越成果，但是其中只有少数能够转换为商业成功案例，”他说。
SAIT has been leading Samsung’s core technology development and opened a lab for artificial intelligence research in Canada earlier this year. It also developed Samsung’s new TV technology using cadmium-free quantum dot materials.
三星先进技术研究院一直领导着三星的核心技术开发，今年早些时候还在加拿大开设了一个人工智能研究实验室。该院还开发了采用无镉量子点材料的三星新电视技术。
Additional reporting by Nic Fildes in London
尼克•法尔兹(Nic Fildes)伦敦补充报道
