Researchers show that enzyme function inhibits battery ageing

It has been known in biology for a long time that the excited oxygen molecule singlet oxygen is the main cause of ageing in cells. To counter this, nature uses an enzyme called superoxide dismutase to eliminate superoxide as a free radical. Superoxide also occurs in cell respiration for energy production and is the preliminary stage and thus source of singlet oxygen. TU Graz's Stefan Freunberger has now stumbled upon astonishing parallels of oxygen chemistry in battery systems.