The Future of Energy Storage: Printable, Moldable Batteries Made From Paper

While the internet and advancements and technology has as of lately taken the place of paper, many scientist nationwide are reminding all to not discount the importance of paper. Scientists have made batteries and supercapacitors with little more than ordinary office paper and some carbon and silver nanomaterials. The research, published online December 7 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, brings scientists closer to lightweight printable batteries that may one day be molded into computers, cell phones or solarpanels. Research done nearby in Troy, NY at RPI has proven that these new developments could change the future of paper. “Power storage is one of the very important aspects of solving the energy issue," comments Robert Linhardt of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. The paper-based devices show excellent performance. Lindhardt goes on to discuss that the paper’s performance is manly due to its porous nature, and when used at a nano scale, paper is merely a mix of fibers. This vast surface area helps inks stick, says Yi Cui of Stanford University, coauthor of the new work. This holds true for carbon nanotube ink as well. When carbon-nanotube ink touches paper, the nanotubes "get caught very tightly to the cellulose," says Cui. The reason is thought to be plain old electormagnetics. The paper acts as a scaffold, and the carbon nanotubes act as electrodes that electrolytes in solution react with. This nanotube-paper combination offers a lightweight alternative to traditional energy storage devices that rely on metals. By sandwiching a piece of untreated paper between two pieces inked with carbon nanotubes and then placing the layers in an electrolyte solution, the researchers made conductive paper that could be bent and rolled. When adhesive tape was applied to the paper and then pulled off, the ink didn’t peel off with the tape, a problem with other energy storage materials made with plastic films, the researchers note. Silver nanowires also made the paper conductive. While previous work has used a number of other materials this demonstration is the first with ordinary office paper, says Cui. The next step is to take the technology to a larger scale, which might not be a huge hurdle, since paper making and printing are well-developed technologies.

http://www.newscred.com/article/show/title/printable-moldable-batteries-made-from-paper-and-nanotubes-4b1e5e10e3f27/2364442