News & Update

JOM, Oct 2007

Items of Note from the Field, Profession, and Society

Paper-Thin Battery Stores Energy for Electronic Devices

By infusing paper with carbon nanotubes, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed an energy storage device that could be used in small-scale electronics, implantable medical equipment, and vehicles. The nanoengineered battery can function in temperatures ranging from 300°F to 0 -100°F, can act as both a high-energy battery and a high-power supercapacitor, and can use human blood or sweat to help power the battery.

The device is made up of cellulose infused with aligned carbon nanotubes, which give the device its black color (Figure 1). The nanotubes act as electrodes and allow the storage devices to conduct electricity. The device can provide long, steady power output comparable to a conventional battery, as well as a supercapacitor's quick burst of high energy. In addition, its flexibility allows it to be rolled, twisted, folded, or cut into any number of shapes with no loss of mechanical integrity or efficiency. The paper batteries can also be stacked to boost the total power output.

"We're not putting pieces togetherit's a single, integrated device," said Robert Linhardt, the Ann and John H. Broadbent Senior Constellation Professor of Biocatalysts and Metabolic Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic. "The components are molecularly attached to each other: the carbon nanotube print is embedded in the paper, and the electrolyte is soaked into the paper. The end result is a device that looks, feels, and weighs the same as paper."

For the electrolyte, researchers used ionic liquid, which contains no water. This means there is nothing in the batteries to freeze or evaporate. This is what allows the storage device to withstand extreme temperatures.

The paper batteries could be used in cars, aircraft, and boats and could be molded into different shapes, such as a car door, to enable additional design innovations. The material's biocompatibility also makes it a potential power supply for devices implanted in the body.

"When we get this technology down, we'll basically have the ability to print batteries and print supercapacitors," said Pulickel M. Ajayan, professor of materials science and engineering at Rensselaer. "We see this as a technology that's just right for the current energy market, as well as the electronics industry, which is always looking for smaller, lighter power sources. Our device could make its way into any number of different applications."

The materials used to create the paper batteries are expensive, and the team has not yet developed a way to inexpensively mass produce the devices. They are now working on ways to boost the efficiency of the batteries and supercapacitors and are investigating different manufacturing techniques.

This research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Wine Can Help Detect Mineral Deposits

A glass of wine could lead to the discovery of new mineral deposits in Australia, according to some unusual research done by Ryan Noble, an exploration and mining scientist with the Australian national science agency, CSIRO. By doing research with the beverages in his spare time. Noble found that the chemical ingredients in wine and soft drinks, including weak organic acids, have the ability to dissolve weakly bound metals into solution.

"When you mix the drinks with soil, acids dissolve some of the metals into solution, which can then easily be detected in routine laboratory analysis," said Noble.

The chemical ability of wine and soft drinks makes them suitable for use as a cheap extraction tool that can be applied to mineral exploration.

"In many cases, the comparison of metals extracted using wine and soft drink were superior to those extracted using conventional, and much more expensive, commercial solvents," said Noble.

This technique works particularly well for discovering elevated levels of metals such as silver, zinc, copper, and nickel, according to the researchers. They tested red wine and several popular soft drinks and found that the results were not affected by either the specific type of wine or the specific type of soft drink used.

Results of this testing were presented at the 2007 Mineral Exploration Seminar hosted by Australia's Cooperative Research Centre for Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration.

TMS Introduces New Membership Option for International Materials Community

This year, TMS has introduced two new options for international materials scientists and engineers to become electronic members of the society. Earlier this year, the International eMember 1 grade was introduced for materials scientists and engineers living and working in developing countries. Now, a second membership grade. International e-Member 2, is available to international materials scientists and engineers located outside of these developing countries.

Although full TMS membership is available to individuals living in any location, the international e-member grades were established to allow professionals living outside the United States and Canada the option to receive TMS membership benefits exclusively in electronic format at a lower rate than traditional memberships.