Altering Any Surface into Batteries Through a High-Tech Paint

Altering Any Surface into Batteries Through a High-Tech Paint

By Shinji Tutoru

RICE UNIVERSITY, TEXAS, USA. Spray-paintable batteries that can be sprayed like paint on practically any surface. They can alter any sprayed surfaces into batteries. In the future, your house can literally be converted into a battery.

A lot of portable gadgets like laptops and mobile phones utilize rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. These batteries’ jelly-roll-like and spiral design actually restrict them to cylindrical and rectangular shapes.

Materials scientist Neelam Singh and colleagues meticulously spent long hours in formulating paints that could work as components of a battery. Their search for materials led them to the use of ultra-fine graphite powder and carbon nanotubes. They painted these materials in layers using the carbon nanotubes first, followed by the graphite powder to create the innovative batteries.

The research team have been successful in spray-painting these batteries on diverse and distinct surfaces. They have used it on glazed ceramic tiles, glass slides, curved side of a beer mug, flexible plastic sheets and stainless steel. This led them to the conclusion that the spray-paint batteries can transform any surface into useful batteries. It can one day convert an entire house into a battery.

One amazing feature of this innovation is that the material onto which the batteries were painted did not have any damaging effect on the devices’ performances. However, these batteries employed flammable, toxic and possibly corrossive materials in moisture-free and oxygen-free environment. Further studies will surely utilize safe battery materials that the general public can spray paint themselves just like when they paint their cars and houses.

Invention Spray-paintable batteries
Organization Rice University, Texas, USA
Researcher Charudatta Galande, Pulickel Ajayan and Neelam Singh
Field(s) Alternative Power Sources, Batteries, Spray-Paintable Batteries
Further Information Discovery News

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