Batteries Made From Ordinary Paper
Wednesday, December 09 2009
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Bing Hu, a post-doctoral student, prepares a small square of ordinary paper with an ink that will deposit nanotubes on the surface that can then be charged with energy to create a battery. (Stanford University/L.A. Cicero)
Like batteries, capacitors hold an electric charge, but for a shorter period of time. However, capacitors can store and discharge electricity much more rapidly than a battery.
"These nanomaterials are special," said Yi Cui, assistant professor of Materials Science and Engineering. "They're a one-dimensional structure with very small diameters."
The small diameter helps the nanomaterial ink stick strongly to the fibrous paper, making the battery and supercapacitor very durable. The paper supercapacitor may last through 40,000 charge-discharge cycles. The nanomaterials also make ideal conductors because they move electricity along much more efficiently than ordinary conductors.
