The paper battery: light and efficient and great for EVs
A group of developers from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed an integrated paper material that is able to store and release electricity. The created sample was barely the size of a post stamp but was able to produce 2.3 V of electricity. The investigators' target is creating a ream so large it could power an electric car.How did they manage this? The battery contains carbon nanotubes, each about one millionth of a centimetre thick, which act as an electrode. The nanotubes are embedded in a sheet of paper soaked in ionic liquid electrolytes, which conduct the electricity. The structure is so flexible that it can be rolled up, folded or cut and the ionic liquid can even be human sweat, which makes it able for medicine applications.
The battery basic materials are paper and carbon, which makes it also a very safe alternative for electricity storage (lead acid batteries anyone?). Nevertheless, the nanotechnology that is used to create this paper battery is very expensive, so any prospective automotive application would require sheets of the size of newspapers. The investigator's ultimate target is producing the paper using a newspaper-type roller.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
scatter 8:43AM (8/15/2007)
Maybe it could be incorporated into the interior trim of the car?
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JJ 1:50PM (8/15/2007)
That's my school. The carbon nanotubes research has been going on a while. My adviser has a container of carbon nano fibers on his desk. Of course, I had nothing to do with any of this research :(
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Owen 1:57PM (8/15/2007)
Or perhaps it could be in the floor pan as a sound deadener. 2 birds with one stone. Either way, that's wicked cool.
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Joseph 2:37PM (8/15/2007)
"The created sample was barely the size of a post stamp but was able to produce 2.3 V of electricity"
What matter is hwo electricity it stores in comparison to its weight, and how powerful it is.
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