20-12-2012, 05:58 PM
Paper Battery
below zero. The use of ionic liquid also makes the battery extremely biocompatible; the team printedpaper batteries without adding any electrolytes, and demonstrated that naturally occurring electrolytesin human sweat, blood, and urine can be used to activate the battery device. According to Pushparaj“It’s a way to power a small device such as a pacemaker without introducing any harsh chemicals – suchas the kind that are typically found in batteries — into the body.”
Durability
The use of carbon nanotubes gives the paper battery extreme flexibility; the sheets can be rolled,twisted, folded, or cut into numerous shapes with no loss of integrity or efficiency, or stacked, likeprinter paper (or a Voltaic pile), to boost total output. As well, they can be made in a variety of sizes,from postage stamp to broadsheet. “It’s essentially a regular piece of paper, but it’s made in a veryintelligent way,” said Linhardt, “We’re not putting pieces together — it’s a single, integrated device,” hesaid. “The components are molecularly attached to each other: the carbon nanotube print is embeddedin the paper, and the electrolyte is soaked into the paper. The end result is a device that looks, feels, andweighs the same as paper.”
The paper-like quality of the battery combined with the structure of the nanotubes embedded withingives them their light weight and low cost, making them attractive for portable electronics, aircraft,automobiles, and toys (such as model aircraft), while their ability to use electrolytes in blood make thempotentially useful for medical devices such as pacemakers. The medical uses are particularly attractivebecause they do not contain any toxic materials and can be biodegradable; a major drawback of chemical cellsHowever, Professor Sperling cautions that commercial applications may be a long way away, becausenanotubes are still relatively expensive to fabricate. Currently they are making devices a few inches insize. In order to be commercially viable, they would like to be able to make them newspaper size; a sizewhich, taken all together would be powerful enough to power a car.
Conclusion
A paper battery is a battery engineered to use a paper-thin sheet of cellulose (which is the majorconstituent of regular paper, among other things) infused with aligned carbon nanotubes.[1] Thenanotubes act as electrodes; allowing the storage devices to conduct electricity. The battery, whichfunctions as both a lithium-ion battery and a supercapacitor, can provide a long, steady power outputcomparable to a conventional battery, as well as a supercapacitor’s quick burst of high energy -- andwhile a conventional battery contains a number of separate components, the paper battery integratesall of the battery components in a single structure, making it more energy efficient.
below zero. The use of ionic liquid also makes the battery extremely biocompatible; the team printedpaper batteries without adding any electrolytes, and demonstrated that naturally occurring electrolytesin human sweat, blood, and urine can be used to activate the battery device. According to Pushparaj“It’s a way to power a small device such as a pacemaker without introducing any harsh chemicals – suchas the kind that are typically found in batteries — into the body.”
Durability
The use of carbon nanotubes gives the paper battery extreme flexibility; the sheets can be rolled,twisted, folded, or cut into numerous shapes with no loss of integrity or efficiency, or stacked, likeprinter paper (or a Voltaic pile), to boost total output. As well, they can be made in a variety of sizes,from postage stamp to broadsheet. “It’s essentially a regular piece of paper, but it’s made in a veryintelligent way,” said Linhardt, “We’re not putting pieces together — it’s a single, integrated device,” hesaid. “The components are molecularly attached to each other: the carbon nanotube print is embeddedin the paper, and the electrolyte is soaked into the paper. The end result is a device that looks, feels, andweighs the same as paper.”
The paper-like quality of the battery combined with the structure of the nanotubes embedded withingives them their light weight and low cost, making them attractive for portable electronics, aircraft,automobiles, and toys (such as model aircraft), while their ability to use electrolytes in blood make thempotentially useful for medical devices such as pacemakers. The medical uses are particularly attractivebecause they do not contain any toxic materials and can be biodegradable; a major drawback of chemical cellsHowever, Professor Sperling cautions that commercial applications may be a long way away, becausenanotubes are still relatively expensive to fabricate. Currently they are making devices a few inches insize. In order to be commercially viable, they would like to be able to make them newspaper size; a sizewhich, taken all together would be powerful enough to power a car.
Conclusion
A paper battery is a battery engineered to use a paper-thin sheet of cellulose (which is the majorconstituent of regular paper, among other things) infused with aligned carbon nanotubes.[1] Thenanotubes act as electrodes; allowing the storage devices to conduct electricity. The battery, whichfunctions as both a lithium-ion battery and a supercapacitor, can provide a long, steady power outputcomparable to a conventional battery, as well as a supercapacitor’s quick burst of high energy -- andwhile a conventional battery contains a number of separate components, the paper battery integratesall of the battery components in a single structure, making it more energy efficient.