Paper Battery

From Conworld

STATUS: PENDING DISCUSSION

// Addition of further details Arkyonite 09:55, 7 June 2008 (PDT) // Design and application of a type of bleeding-edge energy storage technology Ketsu ^{Drop a Msg}_Alex 05:04, 12 April 2008 (EDT)

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Wikipedia Article

Contents 1 Manufacture 2 Result 3 Use 4 Other Notes

Manufacture

On a silica surface, carbon nano-tubes are built/formed. Cellulose is poured onto the carbon nano-tubes, covering up one end of it. Once the cellulose is dry, the newly formed paper can be peeled off from the silica.

Note: Cellulose is the stuff that paper is made of. >_>

Result

The side of the paper facing the silica will have one end of all the carbon nano-tube on the surface. The other end of the nano-tubes is inside the paper.

This design looks very much like the modern battery, but instead many thousands tiny nano-batteries are connected in parallel.

Use

Tear the paper in half and you reduce the power by 50%. Stack three sheets on top of each other and you increase the voltage by 300%.

To discharge the battery (i.e.: make a current flow), it has to be soaked in an electrolyte such as any ionic liquid or any ionic solution.

• Advantage of ionic liquids: Can withstand extreme temperatures.
• Disadvantage of ionic liquids: Some can be toxic. Should be kept in containers/casing.
• Advantage of ionic solutions: Urine/Sweat/Blood are ionic solutions. Dissolving a salt in water gives an ionic solution.
• Disadvantage of ionic solutions: Temperature range of 0 to 100 degrees Celsius. You're using water, mate.

By putting two sheets of paper together with the cellulose side facing inwards (and a drop of electrolyte on the paper), a supercapacitor is formed. A (currently produced) 100g sheet can replace a 1300mAh battery.

By putting a drop of electrolyte on a single sheet and then putting a metal foil consisting of lithium and aluminum on each side, a lithium ion battery is formed with ~110mAh/g capacity (currently produced).

This is expecially useful in places where electricity is limited. However, the dependence on using liquids which do not come with the battery would often be a problem especially in desert areas.

Other Notes

This battery is lightweight, and could seriously lighten-up current hand-held electrical wires. It can also be bent and cut into shapes, making it ideal for specialist applications. [quote]A newspaper-sized electric battery can power a car.[/quote]