Researchers invented 'paper' thin battery - Nano Technology

Flexible energy storage devices based on nanocomposite paper
(Engineering, Nano Technology)


Researchers at the Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, have invented a super lightweight, flexible, biodegradable battery in the form of a piece of paper. By harnessing the power of nanotechnology among other things, the researchers figured out how to shrink, reinvent,
and otherwise repackage the components of a regular lithium-ion battery in a sheet of cellulose paper.

An early prototype of the device, just big enough to be held between thumb and forefinger, produces 2.5 volts, enough to power a small fan, or illuminate a light, and its inventors say that the battery can be easily scaled up to provide enough power to run any number of electronic
gadgets.

The scientists substituted nanotubes for the electrodes used in a conventional battery and used an ionic liquid solution as the battery's electrolyte. The nanotubes were embedded in the cellulose while the electrolyte was soaked into the material. The cellulose, which accounts
for 90% of the item's weight, acts as a separator.

Read more about this research paper @ Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.