PAPER BATTERIES FROM STANFORD

By K.C.Bishoppe

Lightweight, bendable batteries have been created out of paper by researchers at Stanford University.

Created out of a sheet of paper coated with ink made of nanotubes and silver nanowires, the paper batteries are designed to be folded, crumpled and even soaked in acidic solution

The nanotubes used in the paper batteries and supercapacitors have a very small diameter, enabling the ink made from them to stick tightly to the paper. It's estimated by the university that the supercapacitors may be able to handle 40,000 charge-discharge cycles, which is more than lithium batteries can withstand.

It's well known that nanomaterials move electricity more efficiently than traditional materials and thus make better conductors.

Early in 2009 a Stanford research team used silicon nanowires to enable lithium-ion batteries to hold 10 times the charge they previously could hold.

MIT announced in April 2009 that researchers at the institution were combining nanotechnology with genetically engineered viruses to build batteries that could power hybrid cars and cell phones.