At Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, scientists have developed a lightweight and flexible battery that resembles a sheet of black paper. The resembelance is not simply an accident, as the device is largely made from cellulose, a primary component in paper. After infusing the paper with aligned carbon nanotubes, the paper gains the ability to conduct electricity.

By soaking the paper battery in an ionic liquid, to serve as the electrolyte, the nanocomposite paper can then function as both a lithium-ion battery and a supercapacitor. Since the ionic liquid used contains no water, there is nothing that can freeze or evaporate, allowing the paper battery to withstand extreme temperatures.

Additionally, the paper battery can be cut, folded, and twisted with no loss of efficiency. And by stacking sheets of paper batteries, the total power output can be increased.

The paper battery is also bio-compatible due to its design, and may eventually serve as power supplies for devices implanted in the body. Rather than using an ionic liquid as an electrolyte, the abundance of natural electrolytes such as human sweat, blood, and urine, can be used to activate the device. It seems it won’t be long before we start using people as batteries…

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