Cellulose Paper

+ Nano-technology
___________________________

?
An Overview of the battery technology that powers
our mobile society.
 INTRODUCTION
• The creation of the paper battery drew from a diverse pool of
disciplanes, requiring expertise in materials science, energy
storage and chemistry.

• In august 2007, a research team at Rensselear polytechnic

Institute led by Drs. Robert Linhardt, the Ann and John H.Broad
Bent, senior constellation professors of bio catalysis and
Metabolic engineering at Rensselaer, the Pulickel M.Ajayan,
Professor of materials science and engineering AND Omkaram
Nalamasu, professor of chemistry with a joint appointment in
Material science and engineering developed the paper battery,
also known as nano composite paper.
 Battery Chemistry
Electrochemical reaction - a chemical reaction
between elements which creates electrons.

Oxidation occurs on the metals (“electrodes”),

which creates the electrons.

Electrons are transferred down the pile via the

saltwater paper (the “electrolyte”).

A charge is introduced at one pole, which builds

as it moves down the pile.
Recharge-ability & the
“memory effect”
Recharge-ability: basically, when the direction
of electron discharge (negative to positive) is
reversed, restoring power.

The Memory Effect: (generally) When a

battery is repeatedly recharged before it has
discharged more than half of its power, it will
“forget” its original power capacity.

Cadmium crystals are the culprit! (NiCd)

Lithium (Ion) Battery
Development
In the 1970’s, Lithium metal was used but its
instability rendered it unsafe and impractical.
Lithium-cobalt oxide and graphite are now
used as the lithium-Ion-moving electrodes.

The Lithium-Ion battery has a slightly lower

energy density than Lithium metal, but is
much safer. Introduced by Sony in 1991.
 Advantages of Using
Li-Ion Batteries
POWER – High energy density means greater
power in a smaller package.
160% greater than NiMH
220% greater than NiCd
HIGHER VOLTAGE – a strong current allows it to
power complex mechanical devices.
LONG SHELF-LIFE – only 5% discharge loss per
month.
 10% for NiMH, 20% for NiCd
 Disadvantages of Li-Ion
EXPENSIVE -- 40% more than NiCd.

DELICATE -- battery temp must be monitored

from within (which raises the price), and
sealed particularly well.

REGULATIONS -- when shipping Li-Ion

batteries in bulk (which also raises the price).

Class 9 miscellaneous hazardous material

UN Manual of Tests and Criteria (III, 38.3)

Environmental Impact of
Li-Ion Batteries
Rechargeable batteries are often recyclable.

Oxidized Lithium is non-toxic, and can be

extracted from the battery, neutralized, and
used as feedstock for new Li-Ion batteries.
 The Intersection
“In terms of weight and size, batteries have become one
of the limiting factors in the development of electronic
devices.”

“The problem with...lithium batteries is that none of the

existing electrode materials alone can deliver all the
required performance characteristics including high
capacity, higher operating voltage, and long cycle life.
Consequently, the other way is to optimize available
electrode materials by designing new composite
structures on the nanoscale.”
“Nano”-Science and
-Technology
The attempt to manufacture and control
objects at the atomic and molecular level (i.e.
100 nanometers or smaller).

1 nanometer = 1 billionth of a meter (10-9)

1 nanometer : 1 meter :: 1 marble : Earth

1 sheet of paper = 100,000 nanometers

 Nano + Li-Ion = ?
Nanotechnology and Li-Ion applications in the
commercial sector are apparent...

lighter, more powerful batteries increase

user mobility and equipment life.

DeWalt 36volt cordless power tools

Nanotechnology & Li-Ion applications in the

residential sector are not so obvious...

Micro-generated energy storage?

 Micro-Generated
Energy Storage
Li-Ion batteries’ high energy density allows
batteries them to power complex machinery.

Li-Ion batteries recharge quickly and hold

their charge longer, which provides flexibility
to the micro-generator.

particularly helpful for wind and solar

generators!

Lightness, and power per volume allow for

storage and design flexibility.
 What is Nanocomposite paper

• It is a hybrid energy storage device that

combines characteristics of batteries and
super capacitors.

• It takes the high energy storage capacity of

the battery and the high energy density of
the super capacitor which producing bursts
of extreme power.
 Materials and Description

This energy storage device is based on two basic, inexpensive

materials: carbon nanotubes and cellulose. Also an ionic liquid
provides the third component: electrolyte. Engineered together,
they form nanocomposite paper. It is as thin and flexible as a
piece of paper—it can be twisted, folded, rolled and cut to fit
any space without losing any of its energy. The paper battery
can also be stacked to boost the total power output.
 How it is made

• To create this paper we have to first dissolve the

cellulose in the ionic liquid and then infiltrate the
cellulose paper with aligned carbon nanotubes
which form the uniform film.

• Then it is solidified on dry ice, after this it is

soaked in ethonal to remove the ionic liquid and
dried in a vacume, which gives us our final product:
Nanocomposite paper.
BLOCK D IAGRAM
Paper battery:

A paper battery is a flexible, ultra-thin energy storage and

production device formed by combining carbon nanotube s with
a conventional sheet of cellulose-based paper.

A paper battery acts as both a high-energy battery and super

capacitor , combining two components that are separate in
traditional electronics .

This combination allows the battery to provide both long-term,

steady power production and bursts of energy. Non-toxic,
flexible paper batteries have the potential to power the next
generation of electronics, medical devices and hybrid vehicles,
allowing for radical new designs and medical technologies.
 WHAT IS A CARBON NANOTUBE?
• A carbon nanotube is a tube-shaped material, made
of carbon, having a diameter measuring on the
nanometer scale.
• A nanometer is one billionth of the meter or about
one ten-thousandth the thickness of the human hair.
• The graphite layer appears somewhat like a rolled-
up chicken wire with a continuous unbroken
hexagonal mesh and carbon molecules at the
apexes of the hexagons.
• Carbon Nanotubes have many structures, differing in
length, thickness, and in the type of helicity and
number of layers.
• Although they are formed from essentially the same
graphite sheet, their electrical characteristics differ
depending on these variations, acting either as
metals or as semiconductors.
 How Does Nanocyl Produce Carbon
Nanotubes?

• Nanocyl uses the "Catalytic Carbon Vapour

Deposition" method for producing Carbon
Nanotube Technologies.

• It involves growing nanotubes on substrates,

thus enabling uniform, large-scale production
of the highest-quality carbon nanotubes
worldwide.

• This proven industrial process is well known

for its reliability and scalability.
What are the Properties of a Carbon
Nanotube?
• The intrinsic mechanical and transport properties of
Carbon Nanotubes make them the ultimate carbon
fibers.

• The following tables compare these properties to

other engineering materials. Mechanical properties of
engineering fibers are:
Fiber Specific Energy Strength Strain at
material density break(%)
Carbon 1.3 to 2 1 10 to 60 10
nanotube
Carbon 1.7 to 2 0.2 to 0.6 1.7 to 5 0.3 to2.4
fiber-PAN
Carbon 2 to 2.2 0.4 to 0.96 2.2 to 3.3 0.27 to 0.6
fiber-PITCH
Glass 2.5 0.07/0.08 2.4/4.5 4.8
Kelvar*49 1.4 0.13 3.6 to 4.1 2.8
Steel 7.8 0.2 4.1 <10
 • Transport properties of conductive materials are:
Material Thermal conductivity Electrical
(w/mk) conductivity
Carbon nanotube >3000 106 to 107

Copper 400 6*107

Carbon fiber-PITCH 1000 2 to 8.5*106

Carbon fiber-PAN 8 to 105 6.5 to 14*106

• Overall, Carbon Nanotubes show a unique combination of

stiffness, strength, and tenacity compared to other fiber materials
which usually lack one or more of these properties.

• Thermal and electrical conductivity are also very high, and

comparable to other conductive materials.
 How a paper battery works?
• While a conventional battery contains a number of separate
components, the paper battery integrates all of the battery
components in a single structure, making it more energy
efficient, Integrated devices.

• "The warm up time, power loss, component malfunction; you don't

get those problems with integrated devices. When you transfer
power from one component to another you lose energy. But you
lose less energy in an integrated device."

• You can implant a piece of paper in the body and blood would
serve as an electrolyte.

• The battery contains carbon nanotubes, each about one millionth

of a centimeter thick, which act as an electrode. The nanotubes are
embedded in a sheet of paper soaked in ionic liquid electrolytes,
which conduct the electricity.
.
• Electricity is the flow of electrical power or electrons

• Batteries produce electrons through a chemical reaction

between electrolyte and metal in the traditional battery.

• Chemical reaction in the paper battery is between

electrolyte and carbon nanotubes.

• Electrons collect on the negative terminal of the battery and

flow along a connected wire to the positive terminal.

• Electrons must flow from the negative to the positive

terminal for the chemical reaction to continue.
• The flexible battery can function even if it is rolled up,
folded or cut.

• Although the power output is currently modest,

increasing the output is easy.

• "If we stack 500 sheets together in a ream, that's 500

times the voltage. If we rip the paper in half we cut
power by 50%. So we can control the power and voltage
issue."

• Because the battery consists mainly of paper and

carbon, it could be used to power pacemakers within the
body where conventional batteries pose a toxic threat.

• “We wouldn't want the ionic liquid electrolytes in our

body, but it works without them that is we can implant a
piece of paper in the body and blood would serve as an
electrolyte."
 EXAMPLE:
• Let us take an example how the ionic liquid is used as an electrolyte
for the paper batteries.

• As the ionic liquid does not contain any water, there will be nothing to
evaporate and the use of ionic liquid in making paper batteries makes
the battery to withstand at extreme temperatures.

• Let us see how the sulphuric acid acts as an electrolyte by studying

its properties.

• Sulphuric acid or sulfuric acid is a strong mineral acid with the

molecular formula H2SO4. Its historical name is vitriol.

• It is soluble in water at all concentrations. It has many applications

and is a basic substance in the chemical industry.

• Polarity and conductivity of H2SO4:

• H2SO4 is a very polar liquid, having a dielectric constant of around

100.

• It has a high electrical conductivity caused by dissociation through

protonating itself, a process known as autopyrolysis.
 Physical properties:

Mass fraction Density kg/L Concentration Common name

H2SO4(%) mol/L
10 1.07 ~1 Dilute H2SO4

29 to 32 1.25 to 1.28 4.2 to 5 Battery acid

used in lead
acid batteries
62 to 70 1.52 to 1.60 9.6 to 11.5 Chamber acid
Fertilizer acid
78 to 80 1.70 to 1.73 13.5 to 14 Tower acid
Glover acid
95 to 98 1.83 ~18 Conc. H2SO4
Chemical properties:
• Reaction with water:

• The hydration reaction of sulfuric acid is highly exothermic.

• One should always add the acid to the water rather than the
water to the acid. Because the reaction is in an equilibrium that
favors the rapid protonation of water, addition of acid to the water
ensures that the acid is the limiting reagent.

• This reaction is best thought of as the formation of hydronium

ions:

• H2SO4 + H2O → H3O+ + HSO4−

• HSO4− + H2O → H3O+ + SO42−

• Because the hydration of sulfuric acid is thermodynamically

favorable, sulfuric acid is an excellent dehydrating agent.
 uses
 The paper battery combined with the structure of the nanotubes
embedded within gives them their light weight and low cost, making
them attractive for portable electronics, aircraft, automobiles and
toys (such as model aircraft), medical devices such as pacemakers.

The medical uses are particularly attractive because they do not

contain any toxic materials and can be biodegradable, a major
drawback of chemical cells.

 However, there is a caution that commercial applications may be

a long way away, because nanotubes are still relatively expensive
to fabricate. Currently, they are making devices a few inches in
size.

 In order to be commercially viable, they would like to be able to

make them newspaper size, a size which taken all together would
be powerful enough to power a car.
 Applications
Cosmetic path: paper battery is set in iontophoresis patch for whitening
and wrinkles.
Medical path: paper battery is set in iontophoresis patch. It helps to
deliver functional drug i.e., local anesthesia, antichloristic,
anodyne, etc.. Into skin.
RFID tag: paper battery is useful to use as a power source of active
RFID tag.
Functional card: paper battery is possible to use as a power source of
melody and display card.

Micro processor; paper battery supply power to micro processor.

 Paper battery offers future power
The black piece of paper can power a small light.

 Flexible paper batteries could meet the energy demands of

the next generation of gadgets.

The ambition is to produce reams of paper that could one day

power a car.

The paper battery was a glimpse into the future of power

storage.

 The versatile paper, which stores energy like a conventional

battery, can also double as a capacitor capable of releasing
sudden energy Bursts for high-power applications.
 CONCLUSION
• This energy storage device is cost-effective because the
device can be able to be used in the smallest and most
diversly designed electronics. Such as cell phones, mp3
players and medical equipment.

• The reasearchers say that it can also be used in

automobiles and aircraft. But it has a poor processibility,
being that it is particularly insoluble of infuseble. Lastly,
the use of ionic liquid makes the device environmentally
friendly; a major concern in nanotechnology.
Finally, an interesting idea...
Background:

battery research results in annual capacity

gains of approximately 6%

Moore’s Law: The number of transistors on

a computer microchip will double every two
years. (40 years of proof!)

Idea: If battery technology had developed at

the same rate, a heavy duty car battery would
be the size of a penny.
 Links to References
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/battery.htm

http://everything2.com/e2node/Lithium%2520ion%2520battery

http://www.batteryuniversity.com

http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2008/january9/nanowire-
010908.html

http://www.nano.gov/html/research/industry.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller

http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=5210.php