This news isn’t going to please the tree-huggers…. the latest development to come down the pike in the insatiable thirst for energy is paper. Yes, paper! Scientists have been tinkering away, and have found that paper, when coated with ink made of silver and carbon nanomaterials, allow it to become a high-energy, highly-efficient source of stored energy. Such “paper battery” storage is said to contain more juice than the lithium-ion battery.
The same feature that helps ink adhere to paper allows it to hold onto the single-walled carbon nanotubes and silver nanowire films. Earlier research found that silicon nanowires could be used to make batteries 10 times as powerful as lithium-ion batteries now used to power devices such as laplop computers.
“Taking advantage of the mature paper technology, low cost, light and high-performance energy-storage are realized by using conductive paper as current collectors and electrodes,” the scientists said in research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
This type of battery could be useful in powering electric or hybrid vehicles, would make electronics lighter weight and longer lasting, and might even lead someday to paper electronics, the scientists said. Battery weight and life have been an obstacle to commercial viability of electric-powered cars and trucks.
Unbelievably, there is speculation that this type of energy will be available for commercial use in the near future. What do you think about this?
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Who could imagine that trees can be used to make batteries ….
Innovation won’t stop for the tree huggers. This is a great leap forward.