SINGAPORE - Local scientists have invented a cheap, rechargeable and fully biodegradable paper battery that can someday be used to power wearables of the future.
This battery is made by screen printing an ink layer of manganese on one side of a sheet of strengthened paper, and a layer of zinc and conductive carbon on the other.
Developed by a team from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), it can hold a substantial amount of charge. For instance, a 4cm by 4cm printed paper battery about 0.4mm thick can power a small electric fan for at least 45 minutes.
Bending or twisting the battery does not interrupt the power supply, and larger battery sheets can be printed and cut up and used as individual, smaller batteries of different sizes and shapes for different uses.
Professor Fan Hongjin from the NTU School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and the study's co-lead author, said: "(The versatility of use, durability and efficacy of these batteries) make our paper batteries ideal for integration in the sorts of flexible electronics that are gradually being developed."
Beyond the potential ergonomics of these batteries, the researchers said these batteries cost at least 10 times less to manufacture in the lab as compared with lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, the world's standard for rechargeable batteries.
This is because the primary electrodes use manganese and zinc, which are much cheaper and more common metals than lithium.
The entire battery can be safely degraded...
Read Full Story: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/ntu-team-invents-biodegradable-paper-battery-10-times-cheaper-than-lithium
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