A paper battery is a flexible ultrafine energy storage and production device formed by the combination of carbon nanotubes with a conventional sheet of cellulose-based paper. A paper battery acts as a high-energy battery and a supercapacitor, combining two components that are separated in traditional electronics. This combination allows the battery to provide both long-term stable power output and energy bursts. Flexible and non-toxic paper batteries have the potential to drive the next generation of electronic, medical and hybrid vehicle devices, allowing radical new designs and medical technologies.
Paper batteries can be bent, cut or shaped for different applications without loss of integrity or efficiency. Cutting one in half halves your energy production. Stacking them multiplies the output power. The first prototypes of the device can produce 2.5 volts of electricity from a sample the size of a postage stamp.
The devices are formed by the combination of cellulose with an infusion of aligned carbon nanotubes that are each approximately one millionth of a centimeter in thickness. Carbon is what gives batteries their black color. These tiny filaments act like the electrodes found in a traditional battery, conducting electricity when the paper comes in contact with an ionic liquid solution. Ionic liquids do not contain water, which means that there is nothing to freeze or evaporate under extreme environmental conditions. As a result, paper batteries can operate between -75 and 150 degrees Celsius.
A manufacturing method, developed by scientists at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and MIT, begins with the growth of nanotubes in a silicon substrate and then impregnates the lacunae in the matrix with cellulose. Once the matrix has dried, the material can detach from the substrate, exposing one end of the carbon nanotubes to act as an electrode. When two sheets are combined with the cellulose sides inward, a supercapacitor is formed that can be activated by the addition of the ionic liquid. This liquid acts as an electrolyte and can include solutions loaded with salt such as human blood, sweat or urine. The high cellulose content (more than 90%) and the lack of toxic chemicals in paper batteries make the device biocompatible and respectful of the environment, especially when compared to the traditional lithium-ion battery used in many current electronic devices and laptops.
The widespread commercial deployment of paper batteries will depend on the development of cheaper manufacturing techniques for carbon nanotubes. As a result of potentially transformative applications in electronics, aerospace, hybrid vehicles and medical science, however, numerous companies and organizations are looking for the development of paper batteries. In addition to the developments announced in 2007 at RPI and MIT, researchers in Singapore announced that they had developed a paper battery with ionic solutions in 2005. NEC has also invested in R & D in paper batteries for possible applications in their electronic devices.
Specialized paper batteries could act as power sources for any number of implanted devices in humans and animals, including RFID tags, cosmetics, drug delivery systems and pacemakers. A condenser introduced into an organism could be implanted completely dry and then gradually exposed to body fluids over time to generate voltage. Paper batteries are also biodegradable, a need that is only partially addressed by current electronic recycling and other methods of eliminating electronic products increasingly advocated by the movement of green computing.