Nanotech Ink Turns Paper Into a Low-Cost Battery 129
jangel writes "Stanford University researchers have demonstrated a way to turn ordinary paper into a battery, which may be crumpled or pressed into any form. It's said the technology promises greater durability, higher efficiency, and faster energy transfer than traditional batteries. The technique uses special ink made of carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires. Thanks to the small diameters of these materials, the ink sticks strongly to the fibrous paper, allowing the battery to be extremely durable. The paper battery could last through 40,000 charge-discharge cycles — at least an order of magnitude more than lithium batteries. According to the researchers, the paper batteries will be low-cost, may be crumpled or folded, and can even be soaked in acidic or basic solutions, yet their performance does not degrade. 'We just haven't tested what happens when you burn it,' one of the researchers quipped." This is the same Stanford research team, lead by Yi Cui, whose work with nanotechnology for battery applications we have discussed before. We've also delved into alternate routes to the holy grail of the ultra-thin battery.
Very cool (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Blood (Score:3, Interesting)
Wrong.
Charles Richard Drew [wikipedia.org] (3 June 1904 – 1 April 1950) was an African American physician and medical researcher. He researched in the field of blood transfusions, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge in developing large-scale blood banks early in World War II, saving thousands of lives of the Allied forces.
They say that "one drop of black blood" makes you bl
Re: (Score:2)
As for why Europeans conquered the world, see "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Jared Diamond. (Short answer: environmental factors.)
Don't forget a healthy dose of bloodthirst. Europeans (or in other words, Christians) have murdered more than anyone else in the history of mankind. All the while exporting the belief of "turning the other cheek".
Good and Evil, wherever you go (Score:2)
I hear what you're saying, and while I'm sympathetic to your ideals, I'm not moved by your argument.
If Europeans/Christians have murdered more than anyone else in the history of mankind, it's because they had the means and opportunity.
Bloodthirsty monsters of men have existed throughout history ac
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
They just lost their edge when they stopped expanding.
Just as the West has lost it's edge because it's not expanding anymore.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Jean Girard: Well, what have you given the world apart from George Bush, Cheerios, and the ThighMaster?
Ricky Bobby: Chinese food?
Cal Naughton, Jr.: Chinese food.
Jean Girard: That's from China.
Ricky Bobby: Pizza.
Jean Girard: Italy.
Cal Naughton, Jr.: Chimichanga.
Jean Girard: Mexico.
Ricky Bobby: Really, smarty-pants? What did French land give us?
Jean Girard: We invented dem
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
That may not matter to you, but it matters to your ex-girlfriend who left you for the power-forward of her college basketball team. When a man has a huge penis, none of what you wrote matters to the women he is seeing.
The puny white man is nothing compared to the prime specimens of humanity. Blacks were bred since the slave days to be bigger, faster, stronger, and more desirable from an evolutionary standpoint.
Women don't want to hear your babbling about Leonhard Euler
Re: (Score:1, Offtopic)
God help me for entering into a racist off topic flamefest, but...
There's plenty of rednecks in my neighbourhood with white children who are far less civilized and more ignorant than a number of non-white children I've met. Believe it or not, there ARE black people who don't worship ignorance and violence and surprisingly enough, they raise their kids with the same attitudes.
Now, take a black kid and have him raised by rednecks (assuming the rednecks would take him) and you'd still get a thug... probably wi
Re: (Score:1, Troll)
'What else did they do?'
'Well, there's...' Colon racked his brains. 'There's al-gebra. That's like sums with letters. For... for people whose brains aren't clever enough for numbers, see?'
'Is that a fact?'
'Right,' said Colon. 'In fact,' he went on, a little more assertively now he could see a way ahead, 'I heard this wizard down the University say that the Klatchians invented nothing. That was their great contribution to maffs, he said. I said "What?" an' he said, they come up with zero.'
'Dun't sound that c
Re: (Score:1, Offtopic)
a couple of centuries of wars and european (and, post-WW2, american) imperialism fucked up their culture and sent them into their version of the Dark Ages - which they're still in now....and unlikely to get out of it any ti
Re: (Score:2)
a couple of centuries of wars and european (and, post-WW2, american) imperialism fucked up their culture and sent them into their version of the Dark Ages
Bullshit.
The Mongol invasion of the 13th century severely beat down the Muslims, burned many libraries and pilloried
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_in_medieval_Islam#Decline [wikipedia.org]
Re: (Score:2)
how does the fact they were invaded by the mongols prior to the europeans make the european imperialism "bullshit?"
it's not either/or - both those things happened. one does not invalidate or make impossible the other. quite the opposite, in fact...the mongol invasion weakened the arabic/islamic empires and made the later european invasions possible.
or, to put it another way, the point of kicking someone when they're down is to make sure they don't get back up again.
Re: (Score:2)
Your original quote was a couple of centuries of wars and european (and, post-WW2, american) imperialism fucked up their culture and sent them into their version of the Dark Ages
Re: (Score:1, Flamebait)
yes. and who do you think it has been fucking them over for the last century and a half or so? european imperialists (esp. british and french) and, later, american imperialism.
Why post anonymously? (Score:1)
Nice, but... (Score:5, Interesting)
What's the ink made of? Oil? If so: never mind.
How fast an you charge it without it bursting into flames?
If it can charge faster and has equal power density to LiON batteries, and the ink isn't made out of oil, and the entire thing can be built outside of a petroleum context, I think we might have a winner...
RS
With thinking like that, we'd never get anywhere. (Score:5, Insightful)
What's the power density? If you need a dozen phonebooks worth of paper to store 100wH, never mind...
To power a car, sure. If space is ample, or energy requirements are minimal, then this could be very useful.
What's the ink made of? Oil? If so: never mind.
Where does this come from? If you think we're going to eliminate oil derived products anytime soon, think again. Oil isn't going away as a feedstock for the chemical industry. If your requirement is that nothing is ever tied to petroleum, just give up now. You won't get very far.
Re:With thinking like that, we'd never get anywher (Score:3, Insightful)
If your requirement is that nothing is ever tied to petroleum, just give up now. You won't get very far.
Won't get very far at a competitive cost anyways...
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:1)
Think anything plastic...
Also
Google "what is made from petroleum"
partial list of petroleum products.
http://www.ranken-energy.com/Products%20from%20Petroleum.htm [ranken-energy.com]
Re:Nice, but... (Score:5, Funny)
What's the ink made of? Oil?
Baby seals
Re:Nice, but... (Score:5, Funny)
What's the ink made of? Oil?
Baby seals
Which are a proven renewable resource!
Re:Nice, but... (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re:Nice, but... (Score:5, Insightful)
The story isn't entirely clear, but it does say "the technique uses special ink made of carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires". Based on that I would guess the ink may be made of carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires.
Re: (Score:1, Flamebait)
What is the method of manufacture for the nanotubes? right now, it's petroleum.
After that - are we going to char forests to make the carbon for the nanotubes to power the SUV so Joe Palooka can schlep his fat ass down the block for a six pack and a box of smokes?
And we all know how plentiful silver is... [silverseek.com]
The problem is lifestyle and expectations and overpopulation. Change any (or more) of those three and you have a big handle on mitigating the collapse.
RS
Re: (Score:2)
Don't be a fool ...
Apparently we've got an excess of CO2 lying around at the moment. Can't we just grab the Carbon out of that ? And the spare Oxygen we release means we won't need so many trees anyway, freeing up valuable land for growing McDonalds beefburgers-on-legs.
Re:Nice, but... (Score:5, Informative)
Ok, now you're just making stuff up.
Who makes nanotubes out of petroleum? I've worked with carbon nanotubes for almost a decade and never heard of anyone seriously doing that. Sure, you can make them from whatever carbon you want, but it's easiest to make them from ethanol. Are we going to char the forests to get that? If you can generate ethanol economically from forests, then you need to tell someone. Is the electricity used to make the nanotubes from petroleum? Maybe, maybe not. The nice thing about electricity is that it doesn't matter how you make it, it works the same. So you can hook Slashdot commenters up to giant hampster wheels to drive your generators if you need to.
The kids doing this research probably come from farms in rural China, are paid probably 1/3 of what you make and are treated like shit (no probably about that). Yet they're at least trying to solve the big problems in the world. To them, you are Joe Palooka... but for some reason they think the world is worth saving.
Re: (Score:2)
All we need to do is mine the asteroids. Get on it NASA!
Re:Nice, but... (Score:4, Informative)
your link to silverseek may have some relevant info, but it also has "sentences" like this:
Just as gold miners have cast their geologists to the wind and pretty much eliminated their support structures to find and develop new properties, so haven't the copper miners. Now "they're" worried about a supply 'pinch' in 2006.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
The story isn't entirely clear, but it does say "the technique uses special ink made of carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires". Based on that I would guess the ink may be made of carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires.
That's definitely worth at least a +3 Funny ... how the hell you got a +5 Insightful out of that is beyond me.
Re: (Score:2)
Hey now, don't hate the playa, hate the game. I agree with you completely though, I though that was a pretty clear attempt at humor.
Re: (Score:1)
at least you are applying logic and thought to the situation at hand.
unlike the mindless hoards flocking to electric/hybrid cars because they are good for Mother Earth, even though the electricity to charge the electric cars mainly comes from hydro carbon based power plants and the hybrid cars have manufacturing processes that cause more harm then the entire life cycle of a Hummer. i for one just want cheap semi clean power.
better not show this story to any of the fools worried about deforestation in the US
Re:Nice, but... (Score:5, Funny)
With a spear, or on horseback?
Re: (Score:1)
Oh for mod points. Rare that /. comments actually make me laugh.
Re:Nice but... (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
similar principle (Score:5, Interesting)
These paper based batteries appear to function in a very similar fashion to the algae derived cellulose batteries mentioned on Slashdot a while ago. The paper probably acts as a support just as the algae cellulose particles did in the previously mentioned design.
Re: (Score:2)
So, what exactly is needed not to guarantee the buggy whip manufacturers a job?
Cars, I'm guessing.
What's the energy density? (Score:2)
I hope I don't have to carry around a copy of "War and Peace" just to power my phone.
Re:What's the energy density? (Score:5, Funny)
No, but it will power your Kindle.
Re:What's the energy density? (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:What's the energy density? (Score:5, Informative)
It's good enough to power short-medium range electric cars without the short lifetime of lead acid batteries.
Re: (Score:2)
So use it as carbon fiber to build the structure of the car.... Sound perfectly plausible already at that.
Sure, until you total your car and the shattered carbon fibers discharge all at once.
A tank full of gasoline is positively safe compared to that.
Re:What's the energy density? (Score:5, Funny)
Burning (Score:2)
'We just haven't tested what happens when you burn it,' one of the researchers quipped."
Riiiiighht. They're just waiting to patent electric rolling papers.
Re:Burning (Score:4, Funny)
Made completely of cellulose! (and carbon nano-tubes)
Can make capacitors out of em too. (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Cost of silver (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Cost of silver (Score:4, Funny)
How much silver is actually sued in these batteries?
IANAL, but I can't imagine what case one could bring against the silver in those batteries...
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Being the same shade as a Pantone Copyrighted Color Swatch ?
Re: (Score:2)
I don't know, but the lawyers cost alone is going to prevent this technology from ever reaching the marketplace.
fancy ink (Score:5, Funny)
Re:fancy ink (Score:5, Informative)
At roughly 2,000$/liter inkjet ink is actually within an order of magnitude (25$/g) of the cost of pure carbon nanotubes. Given the rate at which the cost of nanotubes has been falling over the years and the fact that this ink probably won't be more than ~10-20% nanotubes by volume (my guess) it would be certainly possible that mass scale production could bring the cost down well below that of printer ink. Sad isn't it?
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
You're mixing up "cost" with "price".
The "cost" to manufacture and distribute printer ink and printer cartridges is very low. It's the artificially-high "price" of printer cartridges for consumers that's the problem.
If most consumers today weren't so stupid and just stopped buying printer ink at the current prices, it'd drop in price quite quickly. Even at just 25% of the current price, the manufacturers would still be making huge profit margins.
Re:fancy ink (Score:5, Informative)
You're mixing up "cost" with "price".
The "cost" to manufacture and distribute printer ink and printer cartridges is very low. It's the artificially-high "price" of printer cartridges for consumers that's the problem.
If most consumers today weren't so stupid and just stopped buying printer ink at the current prices, it'd drop in price quite quickly. Even at just 25% of the current price, the manufacturers would still be making huge profit margins.
The ink-jet printers are sold at a very low price, one that is not very profitable (if at all) for the manufacturer in isolation. It's not in isolation, however, because they make that money back by selling the consumable ink at a high mark-up. Effectively, the customer is paying a lower price up-front in exchange for an overall higher price over time. The printer companies are counting on the customer to be enticed by the initial low price without considering the overall deal, which would require some thought. Like many companies that assume the thoughtlessness of their customers, this has worked out well for them, unfortunately.
The same principle is in effect for many car loans. I often see car commercials that advertise a vehicle but either do not specify the total price or the total price is de-emphasized. What is emphasized is the monthly payment, and usually for a 60-month loan. A car loan with such a long duration is a great way to end up upside-down on the vehicle (owe more money than it is worth). It also means that the total price you pay for the vehicle is significantly higher than either the list price or a loan with a more reasonable duration. But people who don't consider these things see a low monthly payment and make their decision on this basis alone.
In both cases, the customer gets somewhat screwed just so they can have their shiny right now. Neither arrangement would appeal to a more financially conscious, savvy customer. Generally the "gotta have it right now" crowd experiences a short-term gain of convenience and a long-term loss of money. It's one reason why the USA has a negative savings index and is generally a culture of debt. Because of this behavior, most car dealerships make a modest profit from selling the vehicles and a large profit from financing them.
Re: (Score:2)
while your correct on the ink jet printers, on the 2 60 month car loans i ahve had in my life, by the time I hit 30 months I am not only on the upside I am easily there. Now in those 30 months I usually make 2-3 extra payments which help. however modern cars not only hold their value longer, but hold together better over time. with minimal maintenance in 5 years you still have a car that can go another 5 years before it can't hold together anymore. A car that was worth it's value some 7.5 years earlier.
Re: (Score:2)
while your correct on the ink jet printers, on the 2 60 month car loans i ahve had in my life, by the time I hit 30 months I am not only on the upside I am easily there. Now in those 30 months I usually make 2-3 extra payments which help. however modern cars not only hold their value longer, but hold together better over time. with minimal maintenance in 5 years you still have a car that can go another 5 years before it can't hold together anymore. A car that was worth it's value some 7.5 years earlier.
I appreciate what you're saying, but please note that I said "many car loans" not "all car loans without exception." I generally try to be very, very careful about using words like "all" for just this reason. I mean no offense, but knowing that you're one of those exceptions doesn't really change or add to the point that I was making.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Why is laser ink so much cheaper than inkjet?
Re: (Score:1)
Unsuccessful troll is unsuccessful
Re: (Score:2)
Were you referring to moi?
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Why is laser ink so much cheaper than inkjet?
Because when you buy a laser printer, you are generally paying the full or actual price for that printer. The consumables therefore tend to more closely reflect the actual cost of producing toner.
When you buy an ink-jet printer, you are generally paying an artificially low price. The manufacturer then makes their money back by selling artificially expensive consumables. This is an ongoing cost of owning the printer, so the manufacturer continues to enjoy a high profit margin on the ink long after they
Re: (Score:2)
Okay I suppose my question would then be; why don't we have the reverse situation, where laser printers are cheap, but the toner is expensive, and where inkjet printers are expensive, but where the ink is cheap?
Re: (Score:2)
Okay I suppose my question would then be; why don't we have the reverse situation, where laser printers are cheap, but the toner is expensive, and where inkjet printers are expensive, but where the ink is cheap?
On that I can only offer speculation.
My guess would be that it's because laser printers are usually purchased by people who have a decent volume of printing to do. Such people are not the most casual users of printers and are likely to put some thought into their purchases. Many times, laser printers are favored by businesses, and businesses have accountants and others who are expected to make good purchasing decisions.
By contrast, most ink-jet printers are aimed at "consumers" and intended for home
Re: (Score:1)
Exactly, those who don't know better and/or have less clout pay more.
Essentially covered already today:
Microsoft Invents Price-Gouging the Least Influential [slashdot.org]
Re: (Score:2)
The real problem will be selling the printers - you'll have to operate at a massive loss to take out the entrenched manufacturers (they have cheaper manufacturing, too,) and then you can raise things back up to a reasonable price once you have a reputation.
Of course, you could aim for businesses, by making a printer that's lower cost than a laser and designed for higher volumes, but you're still looking at a very uphill battle.
Re: (Score:2)
The average consumer has two problems the average bussines dosent.
1) They are not likly to be printing 10,000 pages a week
2) They are not likly to be intrested in useing the same printer in 2 years time.
Re: (Score:2)
Fair enough, but couldn't they 'up' the prices on laser toner in the same way as they do inkjet ink?
Re: (Score:1)
everyone is spoiled by the quality of print (vs monitor).
hm, in a way expensive ink is good.. to remind people to conserve trees
Re: (Score:2)
Ink made out of carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires? That will be almost as expensive as inkjet ink.
No doubt that, if these paper batteries are ever used power cars, the manufacturers will practically give the cars away and make up the cost by selling consumables.
Yawn (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
I knew that oragami class would pay off someday (Score:1)
I for one hope this technology isn't going to be made by HP or Lexmark...
trees? (Score:1)
Just wait until some mad scientist engineers a tree to produce it's own ink and arrange it properly. In Soviet Russia, the tree strikes the lightning! (That's my first Soviet Russia attempt. w00t)
Re: (Score:2)
In Soviet Russia, the tree strikes the lightning! (That's my first Soviet Russia attempt. w00t)
Please. Don't ever attempt that again. Ever.
Science: it works, bitches. (Score:1)
Finally! (Score:1)
Ultra-thin battery already commercially available (Score:5, Informative)
Keep in mind that ultra-thin, printed, "paper" batteries (usually printed on cellulose, or a thin polymer film for added mechanical strength, although paper itself can be done) have been commercially available for a decade -- see Power Paper [powerpaper.com] and Blue Spark Technologies [bluesparkt...logies.com] as just two examples.
Printable Vs Paper (Score:1)
Also, if there's no need for paper, could you use it as a liquid? Pour it int
slightly misleading headline (Score:2, Informative)
ePaper (Score:2)
Would be neat if this could be used in combination with e-ink to make a self powered sheets of e-paper.
so many questions... (Score:1, Informative)
So many questions would be answered if the actual science [pnas.org] was available.
Too bad PNAS charges for people to see that. If you find Yi Cui's site at Stanford and look under "Publications," you may find a relevant pdf [stanford.edu].
*sigh* if only the editors knew how to use the internet... or is it that they don't know science is peer reviewed and not press released?
Just Wow! (Score:5, Funny)
If you tie a length of this paper into a Möbius strip, do you get an infinite power source - or just AC?
Great, just great (Score:2)
Now we'll have libraries with "knowledge is power" posters everywhere.
Guy 1: Hey Joe, how many volts you need to run that there dishwasher?
Guy 2 (named Joe, apparently): I reckon three Libraries of Congress oughta do it.
Burning test (Score:2, Insightful)
My guess is there will be some particularly nasty smoke when they do get around to testing it by burning.
Thousands of carbon naontubes wafting away contaminating the room, furnishings, clothes, your child's fluffy toys doesn't seem like a good idea.
I sure as heck don't want to be subject to inhaling carbon nanotubes. Not even one.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
But will it make us happy? (Score:2)
I think not.
Currency (Score:2)
According to the researchers, the paper batteries will be low-cost, may be crumpled or folded, and can even be soaked in acidic or basic solutions, yet their performance does not degrade.
A few more tests and it might even be suitable for use on paper currency, and suddenly the paranoid fears of having tracking devices in every paper bill could become a reality (starting with $100, $50, and $20 bills).
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, with any newly developed tech one needs to be weary of any potential ill effects. One should be especially careful of anything which you will consume, will touch your skin, or may become airborne if it is not in an enclosed container.
It pays to be cautious, but you don't have to be so cautious as to never use new technology. Even much of the old, commonly used stuff has dangers. Those dangers are just well known. Even most kids know not to put their fingers into light sockets, that is probably one of